BX 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shell iV/'0 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




DANIEL W. WISHER. 



Echoes from 
The Gospfel-Trijmpet 



THREE SERMONS 
AND A PAPER 



JAM 7 1897 



I JA 



, :'. 



By Daniel W. Wisher 

PASTOR OF 

MOUNT OLIVET BAPTIST CHURCH 
New York City 







Copyright 1896 
By DANIEL W. WISHER 



Press of 
E. SCOTT CO., 

New York. 



To the sacred memory 
of my 

BELOVED FATHER AND MOTHER 

DEACON THOMAS WISHER 
MRS. ADELIA WISHER 

Of Norfolk, Virginia 
To whom, next to Christ, I owe all that I am 



INTRODUCTION. 



Rev. D. W. Wisher, Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist 
Church, West Fifty-third Street, New York City, the 
author of this little book, containing two of his Anni- 
versary Sermons and an Educational Sermon preached 
before the National Educational Convention in Wash- 
ington, D. C. All of these sermons are printed by an 
earnest request of which you shall read in this book, 
also a paper read before the Preachers' Union Confer- 
ence in St. Marks M. E. Church, New York City, April 
13th, 1896. "The way of salvation." He consented to 
put the above in print, and give it to the public. And 
I pray that it may do much good to the readers, and 
bring forth much fruit to the honor and glory of God. 
It may be of interest to readers, not personally ac- 
quainted with the author of this book, to have him 
introduced by a brief sketch of his life and work. 

This I have been asked to do, by the author of this 
book, who is my beloved pastor, whose words reached 
my heart and brought me to the marvelous light of the 
Gospel. After coming to this country, I was baptized 
by him into the fellowship of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 
and was ordained from said church. 

I know him, and have only known him to love him 
as a father and pastor and a Christian gentlemen. 

In Virginia, the State that has given more Presi- 
dents to the Union than any other, and in the City of 



Norfolk, Daniel W. Wisher was born on the 220! day of 
March, 1853, the time the sun was crossing the line that 
day. He is the son of deacon Thomas and Adelia 
Wisher. They were slaves. His father was the property 
of Dr. Wm. Seldon, and he bought his freedom. His 
mother was the property of the Quaker Cox, and they 
set her free at twenty-one years of age, according to 
their Christian belief. An aunt of his, by the name of 
Lucinda Anderson, who served in Admiral D. G. Far- 
ragut's family, on hearing of a boy child born unto 
her brother Thomas, went to the house and named him 
Daniel. Prophetically said, he shall be great, for he is a 
chosen vessel unto the Lord to do His work. The boy 
Daniel grew, and this was told to all the family and 
friends. 

The old people, in that day of darkness and trouble, 
had great faith in God, and prayed nightly unto Him ; 
and taught their children the fear of the Lord ; and 
brought them up to love Him moreso than they do 
now a days. As soon as Daniel was old enough, his 
father, who was a Deacon and licensed preacher in the 
First Baptist Church on Bute Street, led him by the 
hand to the church and Sunday-school, and other 
churches where he would preach all the funeral ser- 
mons, and even in the sick rooms, and in old Hall's 
Jail, and it is said the boy Daniel took delight in going 
and always seemed interested in what his father was 
doing. His mother was a good old Methodist,and often 
carried Daniel with her to church, so one Sunday after- 
noon she had him sprinkled, and he wiped the water off 
of his head. 



His Aunt Lucinda taught him to read before the war, 
on a quiet, and his father taught him to read the Bible. 

This boy Daniel can tell many incidents that hap- 
pened in his day during slavery. After Norfolk was 
captured by the Union troops, his father went and 
joined the Union army and went to war, and left little 
Daniel to comfort his mother. God cared for him and 
those he left behind, and he returned back home safely, 
and found his boy Daniel attending public school — 
which was opened by the Freedman's Aid Society of 
the North. He advanced rapidly, and entered the 
Duncan High School, and graduated there, and was 
prepared to go to Howard University, Washington, 
D. C, but was prevented by his father, who said it was 
time for him (Daniel) to learn how to work. And just 
before leaving school he was converted, at the age of 
thirteen, and was baptized by Rev. Lewis Tucker, who 
was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Bute Street, 
Norfolk, Va. He made known then his calling to the 
ministry, but many laughed to scorn, and even said his, 
conversion did not amount to anything, because he 
could not tell what others were saying of hell and 
heaven, and the devil, and many other things. His 
father encouraged him, and his aunt also. He was sick 
from the worriment of people with the old tales of non- 
sense, and he held fast to Jesus, and said he would 
trust God if all the world said he was wrong. His 
faith and love grew strong and stronger. His father 
put him to learn the painter's trade. He was a mild, 
gentle, and obedient son to his parents, even unto their 
death. 



He failed not to read his Bible — that was his favor- 
ite book, as it is to-day. He was a lover of prayer 
meetings and his Church. The deacons of the church 
gave him, as they called in that day, God-speed. His 
first place, after having spoken in the prayer meeting of 
the church, was to go out to the Almshouse and talk to 
the poor people. His fame grew as well as his faith, 
and converts began to come ; and jealousy arose; and 
enemies set themselves against him. He learned his 
trade and worked at it, and Sunday mornings he would 
walk ten miles in the country to preach one sermon. 
He was Superintendent of the Woodside Sunday-school 
at Fort Norfolk for some years, which is a flourishing 
Baptist Church to-day. He had asked the Church for 
license, but there was great opposition by others who 
were aspiring for the same and were not making any 
progress, and also by other licensed preachers, who 
really had in their mind that Daniel wanted to become 
pastor of the church — for the people, old and young, 
were for him, and loved to hear him in preference to 
many others. But God was for him, and his faith was 
in God. And from what I learn from people of his 
home he was a wonder to many, for often he put the 
older preachers to silence by his biblical questions and 
preaching. 

His enemies grew as he grew in faith, and grace, and 
knowledge, and he became strong and stronger, and the 
Lord gave him many souls for his hire, yea, hundreds, 
before he was licensed by the church. The excuse was 
that he was too young. 

In the year of 1874, on July 9, being a man of 22 



years, he married an estimable young lady of his home, 
Miss Rosa A. McClennan, who was not a Christian. He 
continued painting during the week, going Sundays 
to preach to different little churches in the country, 
and many pastors would invite him, for his fame had 
gone out that he was truly a God-sent man. As I am 
told, on the occasion of a great jubilee, which took place 
in August, a month after his marriage, he was sent for 
at Churchill, Western branch, to preach at a protracted 
meeting. Hundreds gathered from all around the 
country, in all kinds of vehicles. He preached from 
Joel, on the Coming Day of the Lord, and the Lord 
gave him in three days over three hundred converts. 
The news went like wildfire. He came home, and they 
were having prayer meetings at his own church, and he 
could not rest. He went to church that night and took 
his wife along. The house was crowded, and two min- 
isters had spoken, and only got two souls to come for- 
ward for prayers. Daniel was on fire. He sat down 
on the pulpit steps, and his wife was in the gallery, and 
they were getting ready to dismiss, when he was so 
moved by the Holy Spirit that he could not hold in any 
longer. He asked Deacon Wm. Davies, please let him 
say a word, and he granted it, after seeing the others 
and the minister. All he can remember that he said 
was that : " The great and terrible day of the Lord 
cometh, and who shall abide?" (Joel ii:n), when he 
sat down. It is well known there was at least three 
hundred souls at the benches crying, "What must I do 
to be saved ? " and about as many more ran out crying 
in the streets. The police were in arms, and the con- 



verts came out shouting and rejoicing. His wife became 
convicted that night, came near falling over the gallery, 
and was caught by two men. The whole city caught 
on fire from that night. There were hundreds of con- 
verts. He never asked for any more license, for he 
did not need them. God had sealed his work by the 
Holy Spirit. 

He continued to paint houses and preach on Sun- 
days in the midst of great oppositions. All of them 
were preachers. In 1876, he came to New York City 
on business of a society called the Morning Star, of 
which he was a member, and is to this day, and while 
in the City of New York he found a good many people 
who knew him, and his father especially, and he was 
carried around to almost all the colored churches, but 
it seemed he did not enjoy their manner of worship in 
some way, so a friend of his, by the name of Wilson 
Murdon, and others, took him to a little mission at 112 
West Twenty-sixth Street. He was at home, and he 
was introduced to the officials, and it happened that 
they had no one to preach that Sunday night, and 
without any time to prepare they put him in the pulpit 
to preach. His church had given him license just be- 
fore leaving. The Holy Spirit carried the Word of 
Truth that night, and his fame began to spread. He 
remained and preached two or three times for 
them. 

Then Bro. Harrison Swan, and Dr. Watson Jones 
and wife, and sister Rhoda Lee, buttonholed him, but he 
made no promises. He was asked to give them advice 
how to get a Baptist Church organized. This he did, 



and he bade them God-speed and good bye, and went 
home, and thought no more of it. In the year of 1877, 
about the last of September, while on his way to work, 
Crossing a field, the mail-carrier met him — he was his 
old schoolmate — and said he had a letter for him. He 
stopped and opened it, and behold it was a call from 
this mission, which had moved into 165 West Twenty- 
sixth Street, and named the Mt. Olivet Baptist Mission, 
under the watch care of the Fifth Avenue Baptist 
Church. Immediately his soul went out, and he said, 
" I will go Lord in Thy name, as Thou alone has called 
me, for Thine honor and glory." He went back home 
and read the letter to his wife, and father, and mother. 
He was getting $3.50 per day working for the City Gas 
Company, and had plenty of work just at that time. 
He stopped work and did not know what the mission 
in New York City was going to give him. He sat down 
and wrote them, and they answered, we will give, as a 
start, $5 per week and room ; and as they grew, so 
should he financially; and they would do all they could 
from time to time, and after a while help him to bring 
his family on. First his wife was against it — thinking it 
looked like folly to leave such a good salary for such a 
poor one — and, to her mind, an uncertain position. 
Father and mother encouraged him, friends laughed at 
him, and the opposition was strong against him leaving 
home. Some of the preachers said it was false, there 
was no such a mission in New York City; and one man 
took an oath that it was false, and said it was Wisher's 
scheme to get ordained so that the Norfolk Church 
might call him. In short, we learn for a fact that that 



man lived, and came to New York City and saw it, and 
he had a stroke of paralysis and was carried back home 
and died. 

The boy preacher — as they called him— arrived, and 
took charge the fourth Sunday in October, in 1877. 
There was but few that attended that Sunday. He 
preached from Ps. xlviii 114. The work began ; the 
Holy Spirit was present. The news ran like wildfire 
all over the city. The next Sunday the gathering had 
increased, and the house was filled, and next time 
packed and jammed. Brother Sidney Root, from the 
Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, and other white brethren 
came and greeted the boy preacher. He was an old 
boy, for he was the father of two children. One died 
in Norfolk, and the other he brought with him when he 
went for his family. 

On March 10, 1878, the mission was organized into 
a regular Baptist church, on twenty-one letters for said 
purposes, and she had great opposition and many 
enemies as well as the boy preacher. No colored 
pastor was in favor of the new church — I mean Bap- 
tists, in New York city. The late Dr. Armitage, who 
was pastor of the Fifth Avenue Church, the late 
Deacon B. F. Judson, Brother Sidney Root, Deacon 
Geo. H. Honsell, Brothers Winian and Kemp, and 
others, with their church ; Brother Chas. T. Evans, of 
the Calvary Baptist Church, and others of that church, 
stood by for the work to go on, and declared that it 
was God's work and no man could stop it. Dr. Mac- 
Arthur came to the front and gave words of cheer and 
encouragement to the young church and to the pastor- 



elect ; the late Samuel S. Constant, Brother B. F. 
Stone, Deacon Parker and others. 

They sent the young pastor home with letters to 
his church to ordain him for them, as he desired his 
own home church should have the honor, and to bring 
on his family. He stayed home a month. The church 
called a council, but it was packed with his bitterest 
foes, and they would not ordain him, though he answered 
all questions and there was nothing against his character. 
They, or a part of them, had made up their mind to kill 
him spiritually, or as a preacher. The last day was set 
to do it — what they had said among a few — and the 
young preacher, Wisher, was failing in health and spirit. 
He walked into the Council humbly and kindly after 
they had opened and called for him. He arose and 
said: " Mr. Moderator and Brethren, I beg to be ex- 
cused from this Council, and that you need not proceed 
further in my examination." Silence reigned for at 
least five minutes. The boy preacher left the church 
building praising God for deliverance, for it had come 
to him — "A man has no honor in his own country." 

He got his letter of dismission and his wife's also, 
and put them in Mt. Olivet Church, of which he was 
pastor, and they called a Council in May, 1878, to 
recognize the church and to ordain its pastor. All the 
Baptist Churches of New York City, and Brooklyn, and 
Jersey City, were invited to send their pastor and two 
delegates, and they responded nobly. Rev. J. D. 
Herr, D.D., was moderator; Brother Charles T. Evans, 
clerk ; Rev. Thomas Armitage, D.D., LL.D., was 
catechiser. The young boy preacher passed a rigid 



and creditable examination, and all were fully satisfied, 
and recommended his ordination, and the Church recog- 
nized. It took place on the evening of the 30th of 
May, 1878, Dr. Armitage preaching the sermon. 

Under the pastorate care Mt. Olivet Baptist 
Church has prospered rapidly through his faithful 
preaching of God's Word. 

Hundreds of souls were brought to the light of the 
Son of God. His congenial nature and strict integrity 
won him friends among all classes of people, while his 
unequalled talent as a financier prospered his church, 
so that in 1885, by the help of their white Baptist friends, 
they purchased that splendid edifice on West Fifty- 
third street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, 
valued at $130,000, which they now possess, having 
built up in nineteen years a membership of 1,450, 
besides having organized two churches from it and a 
large congregation. 

Rev. Wisher, after his coming to New York City, 
applied himself to earnest study, under Rev. J. D. Herr, 
D.D., Rev. Thomas Armitage, D.D., LL.D., and Rev. 
Geo. W. Samson, D.D., LL.D. The Bible was his de- 
light to study, that he might acquire the knowledge 
denied him by his early training. 

He is a man of rare abilities, of great power, of 
conception, full of the Holy Spirit, a live preacher, and 
unassuming. 

A man of strict morality; a servant of God and of 
the people, seeking the welfare of his flock. A friend to 
higher education, which he continually urges upon the 
young, especially those preparing for the ministry, 



but a stern foe to those who foster ignorance and 
superstition among his people, or by their own inability 
to teach perverting the truths of the Bible. 

He is firm in his convictions, and bold to declare 
them without regard of person. 

He has, during his ministry, accomplished any 
amount of good in teaching Bible truths, which will 
never be known to its fullest extent during his life; and 
people of many nations, through him, have been brought 
to Christ and have gone forth to sow the seed. 

Superstition — the legacy of the days of darkness 
and oppression — has to a large extent been blotted out 
among his people by his bold stand for the purity of 
the Gospel truth. He has suffered much financially for 
the sake of the Gospel. 

Though many have been his conflicts and afflictions, 
God has given him victory after victory. 

He is a man of great faith in his God at all times. 
He is the strongest when the battle is in its rage against 
him, and his courage and faith is never daunted. Poor 
in this world's goods, but rich in the grace of God. 

He is the father of ten children, four in heaven, and 
six living. One of his loving daughters, Rosa A. Wisher, 
eight and one-half years, just died as I wrote these 
lines, December 3d. His dear family has the sympathy 
and prayers of his church, and writer, and friends at 
large, I say the " child is not dead but sleepeth." 

May our dear pastor, and friend, and father in the 
Gospel, live long by the grace of God to do much more 
good in the world, and at last reap a glorious reward. 

By his strong faith in God, and a prayerful spirit, 



which made him determined, he pressed forward in the 
name of Jesus Christ his dear Saviour. He has over- 
come great difficulties, though he was denied the pleas- 
ure of a complete education in his youth, yet by God's 
help he has made for himself a name as a preacher and 
pastor second to none. May the young men especially 
take pattern after him and learn to show themselves ap- 
proved by God and shape their lives and their characters 
like the writer of this little book, after Him our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, who " spake as never man spake." 
Yours truly, 

George W. Krygar. 




MOUNT OLIVET BAPTIST CHURCH, 
NEW YORK CITY. 



The Whole Counsel of God for 
Nineteen Years. 



SERMON preached by 

. . . REV. D. W. WISHER . . . 

Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York City 

At the 19TH Anniversary of his Pastorate 
October 25, 1896, 11 A.M. 



" For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of 
God." — tActs 20: 27. 



Dear Brethren : I thank God, through His dear 
Son, Jesus Christ, that He has kept us together as pastor 
and people through these nineteen years until this day. 
Not unto me nor unto you, but unto Him be all the 
praise and glory for the manifold blessings He has 
showered down upon us, and the success that has been 
achieved through us as instruments in His powerful 
hand. 

There is none like unto the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our blessed Christ, and 
our Father, who is worthy to receive all honor, praise, 
and glory to His name for evermore. 

Oh! give the honor that is due to our God; sing 
aloud unto Him; let His praises ring. Fill the whole 
world with the sweet notes of Hosanna; let every 



tongue break forth in singing. God lives and reigns, 
let all the earth keep silence before Him and bow with 
homage at His feet. 

Jehovah our God is mighty, a God of justice and 
of truth, all-wise, all-seeing, and ever present ; a God 
of love, full of compassion, who has gently bowed the 
heavens and kissed the earth, and has shown forth His 
great love for a rebellious world. He has made the 
wilderness a fruitful garden, the parched ground pools 
of water, the crooked ways straight, the rough places 
smooth ; has made the solitary places glad, and caused 
the desert to rejoice and blossom as a rose. He has 
healed the weak and the sick ; has made the dead alive, 
and the glory of the Lord is upon us. 

Beloved in the Lord, I greet you this morning with 
Christian salutation: "Grace be with you and peace 
from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ/' who by His Holy Spirit sent me to you nine- 
teen years ago with His message of truth and love, 
and by His strength I am here to-day, still in His 
temple, declaring all His counsel. 

Many who started with us have fallen asleep and 
are resting from their labors, and their works follow 
them, and their memory is sacred to us. Others, who 
heard the Gospel from my lips, have gone to eternal 
ruin because they would not believe the message of 
God's grace. 

There have been storms, and warfare, and fear has 

often been upon my heart, but through all the conflicts 

I have never forgotten to trust God and follow Him, 

my blessed Saviour, for He alone has been my rock, my 

iS 



strength, my fortress, and my high tower in the day of 
trouble. 

I have been afflicted by sickness, poverty, and by 
enemies who have cast out my name as evil, and some- 
times my friends, my brethren, members of my flock, 
have been my bitterest enemies, but although I heard 
the muttering thunders and saw the forked lightning, 
and the storm threatened to swallow me up, yet the 
Lord was my stay, my ever present help in trouble. 
His promise to me is sure : " Lo, I am with you 
always." 

On the other hand, I have seen the sunshine, and 
have bathed in its warm rays ; I have eaten of the 
pleasant fruit of Jesus' Garden of Joy and drank from 
the living streams ; I have entered into His banqueting 
house, and His banner over me was love. 

I cried unto my God in trouble, and He came forth 
in the power of the Holy Spirit, turned and over- 
turned, and amid the songs of praises and delight, set 
hundreds of captive souls free, and caused His servant 
to rejoice with unspeakable joy. 

With the Church I have mourned, and with the 
Church I have rejoiced. Linked together by God, we 
have wept and we have sung. 

Oh! for another outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon 
us, Lord Jesus, before this Thy servant shall be called 
home to Thee. 

Like Paul of old, writing from Miletus to the 
Elders of the Church at Ephesus to come to him, send- 
ing by them a message to the churches, I also have a 
message to you as an ambassador of Jesus Christ. 



St. Paul reminded them how faithfully he had 
served them in the name of the Lord Jesus from the 
first day he came to Asia ; " after what manner he had 
been with them at all seasons, serving the Lord with all 
humility of mind and with many tears and temptations 
which befell him by the lying in wait by his enemies 
the Jews. He also reminded them that he had kept 
back nothing that was profitable to them, but had 
showed them and taught them publicly, and even from 
house to house. He had declared both to the Jews and 
the Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 

St. Paul is about to leave them and, as he realizes, 
never to return or see their faces any more in this 
world. He wants them to understand that for their 
faith he had laid no rotten foundation, nor lived a reck- 
less life, nor preached unto them fables, but had given 
them the only true foundation, which is Christ and Him 
crucified ; had preached unto them the true Gospel of 
Christ, warning every man, and had lived an exemplary 
life among them. 

The Holy Spirit had borne witness in every city 
as to his work, and souls had been converted — which 
was the seal of his ministry. And this is the seal of 
every true minister of Jesus Christ. 

St. Paul was truly a Christian minister, an evan- 
gelical preacher. He did not preach to please men, but 
God. He did not preach notions or dreams on matters 
of doubtful disputation, but he preached the whole 
counsel of God. The sum and substance of his preach- 
ing was, " Jesus Christ crucified and risen ; " the two 



great Gospel graces, " faith and repentance," and the 
necessity of them he urged continually. 

St. Paul also declares his expectation of trouble, 
suffering and afflictions, in his present journey to Jeru- 
salem. He wanted them to understand that he was not 
running from persecution, for he was no coward, but a 
hero hastening to the battlefield fully armed from 
graces' magazine, and being led by the captain of his 
salvation, Jesus Christ, who never lost a battle. He 
feared not ; he was bound to follow wherever Jesus 
led him. 

He counted not even his life dear to him, for 
he had given up all to follow Jesus, and to declare 
God's whole counsel to the whole world. His greatest 
aim was the salvation of souls. This was the purpose 
of Jesus in coming into the world and suffering as he 
did, and that is the purpose of the Gospel, to bring us 
to God through Jesus Christ. 

This is the disposition of every true minister of the 
Gospel, and every child of the King, to follow where 
Jesus leads by His Holy Spirit. 

St. Paul makes the challenge and appeals to them 
concerning his faithfulness as a minister of the Gospel, 
and tells them to look and see, for it concerns them as 
well as himself ; let them speak now, and prove if he 
has not discharged his duty faithfully. lie claims 
rightly that he has done nothing that could cause the 
ruin of any precious soul. " I take you to record this 
day/' he says, " that I am free from the blood of all 
men." (Acts xx: 26). 

" But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow 



not the trumpet, and the people be not warned ; if the 
sword come, and take any person from among them, he 
is taken away in his iniquity ; but his blood will I 
require at the watchman's hand/' (Ezekiel xxxiii: 6.) 

Now, my beloved in the Lord, G-od's faithful ser- 
vants, ministers of Jesus Christ, like Paul of old — take 
the warning of the prophet Ezekiel, and throw around 
him the searchlight of the Gospel, that men may be 
warned of the awful danger that jeopardises their 
immortal souls. The unfaithful servant covers up sin, 
and tickles the ears of his hearers with fables that 
please their carnal tastes and proud hearts. 

But a man of God, chosen to carry the Gospel, quali- 
fied by God and sent by Him into the field of danger, 
will declare the whole truth regardless of consequences. 
And 1, my brethren, for nineteen years your humble 
servant and pastor, call you to record that during all 
that time I have not failed to give warning; and I chal- 
lenge you that no man's blood can be laid at my door. 
I can say with a clear conscience before God and men 
that " I have not shunned to declare unto you all the coun- 
sel of God." I praise the Lord, that by His grace, He 
has enabled me to do so. Let us consider from our text. 



GOD'S COUNSEL. 

God's counsel is forever mine, 
It gives me joy in boundless grace; 
The storms may rage, the sun may shine, 
Yet o'er me shines my Father's face. 



God's counsel leads with tender love, 
When billows threat'ning o'er us roll ; 
The Gospel message from above 
Restores to peace our troubled soul. 

Oh, Holy Spirit, let the sound 
Of Thy sweet music fill this hour ; 
Oh, let Thy zeal in us abound, 
Revive our hearts with mighty power. 

For nineteen years Thou God of might 
Hast kept us in Thy tender fold ; 
Thy grace, Thy peace, Thy joy and light, 
Has kept us at the gates of gold. 

In all these years the battle raged, 
Against the mighty host of hell ; 
Our Jesus was for us engaged, 
He won the fight and Satan fell. 

Fight on my soul for Jesus lives 
Forever on his throne above ; 
He by His might the vict'ry gives, 
And crowns Thy life with endless love. 

I. God's Ministers. 

Men cannot make themselves ministers of Jesus 
Christ. They cannot take it up as a business of life 
like a mechanic or a merchant. If they do, they fail in 
the true purpose, and are rejected by our Lord, although 
they may become popular preachers ! 

Neither can men make ministers of Jesus Christ. If 

23 



they do, they also fail, and have their portion. The 
ministry is given by God. This God is an intelligent 
Being, and He who sends men to preach, endows them 
with intelligence and qualifies them. Gives them zeal 
to study, and show themselves approved of God and all 
men. He fills them with the Holy Spirit and gives them 
power from on high. Read the following Scriptures : 

" But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he 
is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear my name before the 
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." Acts 
ix: 15. 

" As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the 
Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for 
the work whereunto I have called them." Acts xiii : 2. 

lt And He said unto me, depart : for I will send 
thee far hence unto the Gentiles." Acts xxii : 21. 

" Delivering thee from the people, and from the 
Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee/' Acts xxvi : 17. 

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an 
Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God." Romans i:i. 

" But by the grace of God I am what I am : and 
His grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in 
vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all ; 
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." I 
Corinthians xv : 10. 

" But when it pleased God, who separated me from 
my mother's womb, and called me by His Grace." 
Galatians i : 15. 

''Whereof I was made a minister, according to the 
gifts of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual 
working of His power unto me, who am less than the 



least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should 
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
Christ." Ephesians iii : 7-8. 

" Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an 
Apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not,) a 
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity." I Timothy 
ii : 7. 

" Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an 
Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles/' II Timothy 
i : 11. 

In this word of God their character is clearly 
defined ; and if God's people would study God's Word 
more, and be led by it, they would know and avoid 
false teachers, when they appear among them as Christ 
has prophesied. 

Many men have arisen in our day, professing to 
be ministers of Christ, but denied it by their life, 
character, and works — they are even held in error and 
sin — and I often stand with wonder and ask, "O Lord, 
how long ? " My prayer, like Paul's, is Romans x. 
" Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer for Israel is 
that they might be saved." 

Nothing have I to boast of save the Cross of 
Christ, praising God for the many souls He has given 
me as a seal of my ministry. I am one of the least of 
His little ones,and give all the glory and honor to Him, 
who alone has kept me. He has been my guide and will 
be unto death. 

II. God's Ministers' Duty. 

To preach the Word ; to declare the whole counsel of 
God. 

25 



Jesus said after His resurrection, "Go ye into all 
the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, he 
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he 
that believeth not shall be damned." 

The minister's duty is just what God has said in 
His Word. There his counsels are made known : 
"Tell Israel of her sins and the house of Jacob of her 
transgressions." He is to tell the whole truth without 
any respect of person. He must hide nothing. The 
Gospel is a sharp two-edged sword. If it hurts, let it 
hurt ; if it kills, let it kill. " Necessity is laid upon 
me," says Paul, "yea, woe is unto me if I preach not 
the Gospel/' 

The apostleship was a ministry both to Christ and 
to the souls of men, and they that were called to it 
considered more the "ministry" of it than the dignity 
and authority it gave them. If the apostles did so, how 
much more the pastors and teachers of to-day ought to 
do so — to be in the Church as those who serve and not 
as Lord over God's heritage. They receive their commis- 
sion from Jesus, and to Him they must render account. 
He carries them as in their ministry, supplies them 
with grace and strength to bear the trials and hardships 
of it. He is to live the Gospel life — that is to practice 
what he preaches. He also is to live by the Gospel 
(I Cor. ix : 7-14). 

Brethren, I have, by the help of God, striven hard 
to do my duty as God's servant. I have declared unto 
you the whole counsel of God, and the truth has cut its 
way. It has wounded and healed. It has angered the 
ungodly, and has made them glad by its power. It has 
26 



killed and made alive in Christ Jesus, but some have 
rejected and gone to ruin. 

We are to tell the truth to please God and serve 
His purposes of grace and pardon. Not to lead men 
into darkness by vain superstitions ; not to cater to 
ideas of ignorance, nor to teach them to rely upon 
visions and dreams ; nor to wait for supernatural voices 
and signs ; nor that they can please God by mourning, 
or by chattering like a swallow; neither to pray for their 
sins. 

None of these things are in God's revealed coun- 
sel for His ministers to proclaim. "Woe unto him who 
takes from or adds to this book of God's Word." Let 
the preacher declare the naked and undisguised truth. 
It will stand on its own merits. O ! God, help us so 
ever to declare the whole counsel to the world, and Thy 
name shall have all the glory and honor. 

III. God's whole counsel. 

(i) What is God's counsel ? His revealed will 
and purpose concerning man's salvation (Acts ii:23). 
" Him, being delivered by the determined counsel and 
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked 
hands have crucified and slain" (Acts iv:28). " For to 
do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined 
before to be done." 

"Having made known unto us the mystery of His 
will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath 
purposed in Himself. That in the dispensation of the 
fullness of times, He might gather together in one all 
things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which 
are on earth ; even in Him, in whom also we have ob- 



tained an inheritance; being predestinated according to 
the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the 
counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise 
of His glory, who first trusted in Christ." Ephesians 
1:9-12. 

"The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him : 
but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is be- 
trayed! It had been good for that man if he had not 
been born." Matthew XXVK24. 

"And truly the Son of Man goeth, as it was deter- 
mined ; but woe unto that man by whom He is be- 
trayed!" Luke xxii:22. 

"And he said unto them, These are the words 
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that 
all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the 
law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, 
concerning me." Luke xxiv:44. 

" And they called them, and commanded them not 
to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." Acts 
iv:i8. 

" Declaring the end from the beginning, and from 
ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; 
calling a ravenous bird from the East, the man that ex- 
ecuteth my counsel from a far country; yea, I have 
spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed 
it, I will also do it." Isa. xlvi:io-n. 

"But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the coun- 
sel of God against themselves, being not baptized of 
Him." Luke vii:3o. 

" Henceforth I call you not servants; for the ser- 

23 



vant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called 
you friends; for all things that I have heard of my 
Father I have made known unto you/' John xv:i5. 

" Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, 
is this grace given, that I should preach among the 
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to 
make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, 
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid 
in God, who created all things, by Jesus Christ ; to the 
intent that now unto the principalities, and powers in 
heavenly places, might be made known by the church the 
manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal 
purpose which he purposed in Jesus Christ our Lord, in 
whom we have boldness and access, with confidence, by 
the faith of Him." Eph. iii:8-i2. 

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation 
hath appeared to all men." (Titus ii:u). 

So we see here briefly what God's counsel is. It 
fully revealed in His word the object and aim. Man is 
lost and needs to be saved. God's purpose is to save 
lost men through His dear Son, Jesus Christ. The 
whole plan of salvation was laid out and wrought by 
God through Jesus Christ. 

" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings 
in heavenly places in Christ." Eph. i:3» 

" But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb 
without blemish and without spot." I Peter K19. 

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so 
might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal 
life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans v:2i. 



" It is a faithful saying and worthy of all accepta- 
tion," says Paul, "that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief/' (I Tim- 
othy i:i5). 

The counsel of God, then, is the blessed Gospel of 
the Son of God. It contains, within the Old and New 
Testament, all the revealed will of God to man. 

" Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be bap- 
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many 
as the Lord our God shall call." Acts 11:38-39. 

" For as many as are of the works of the law are 
under the curse; for it is written, cursed is every one 
that continueth not in all things which are written in 
the book of the law to do them. 

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight 
of God, it is evident; for, The just shall live by faith. 

And the law is not of faith; but, The man that 
doeth them shall live in them." Gal. iii:io-i2. 

John iii : 16. " For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believ- 
eth in Him should not perish but have everlasting 
life." 

St. Paul opened it fully to the Elders, to the 
Church, and to the world. " Repentance toward God 
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 

These are the two cardinal points of the Gospel 
teachings, as they are the necessary qualities for every 
Christian. 



" Repentance — whereby we forsake sin, and faith — 
whereby we steadfastly believe the promises of God. 
Man, by sin, has gone away from God. As long as he 
is in that state of sin he goes further and further into 
endless woe, unless he takes heed and returns to God ; 
leaves the old path and comes back to the path of right- 
eousness. To do that he needs faith in Jesus Christ, 
for " Him that cometh to God must believe," for 
" Without faith it is impossible to please God/' The 
Gospel is full of love ; it is the radiant sunlight of 
heaven upon earth, for it is the Gospel of the grace of 
God. 

The Gospel is like leaven — sour to the natural 
spirit, yet makes him holy bread. As leaven spreads 
into the whole lump, so the Gospel regenerates the 
whole man. 

The Gospel is free to all. " Whosoever cometh 
unto me," says Jesus, " I will in no wise cast out." It 
says " Come, without money and without price, and 
partake of the waters of life freely." All are invited, 
"Come." 

(2.) The Gospel is powerful. Jesus said, "And 
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men 
unto me." Paul says, " I am not ashamed of the 
Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salva- 
tion to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and 
also to the Greek." Romans, i: 16. 

(3.) The Gospel is adapted to the needs of man. 
Only obey it, and ye shall eat the good thereof. It is 
an everlasting Gospel in its effects. 

" But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an 



everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed, nor 
confounded, world without end/' Isaiah xlv : 17. 

"And these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
ment ; but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 
xxv : 46. 

"And being made perfect, He became the author 
of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." 
Hebrews v: 9. 

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto 
them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, 
and kindred, and tongue, and people." Revelations 
xiv: 6. 

(4.) The Gospel requires a high degree of moral 
perfection. " Be ye therefore perfect even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew v: 48. 
What then ? Shall we sin because we are not under 
law but under grace ? God forbid. Romans vi: 15. 

(5.) The full significance and provisions of the 
Gospel. 

Do not miscomprehend it. It is plain, simple, 
so that a child can understand it when it is unfolded. 
It is truth without mixture of error. "It is able to make 
thee wise unto salvation." Read God's Word as fol- 
lows: 

" How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet 
of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth 
peace. That bringeth good tidings of good, that pub- 
lisheth salvation. That saith unto Zion, thy God reign- 
eth V Isaiah lii : 7. 

" The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain 

32 



king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth 
his servants to call them that were bidden to the wed- 
ding : and they would not come. 

" Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell 
them which are bidden, Behold T have prepared my 
dinner : my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all 
things are ready : come unto the marriage." Matthew 
xxii : 2-4. 

" Then shall the king say unto them on his right 
hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." Matthew xxv : 34. 

" And the angel said unto them, Fear not : for, 
behold, I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall 
be to all the people. 

" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good will toward men/' Luke ii : 10-14. 

" And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- 
ness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up : that 
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
eternal life. 

" For God so loved the world, that He gave His 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

"For God sent not His Son into the world to con- 
demn the world ; but that the world through Him 
might be saved. " John iii : 14-17. 

" In my Father's house are many mansions : if it 
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a 
place for you. 

" And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will 



come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where 
I am, there ye may be also." John xiv : 2-3. 

" He that spared not His own Son, but delivered 
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also 
freely give us all things ? " Romans viii : 32. 

" And how shall they preach, except they be sent ? 
As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that 
preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of 
good things ! " Romans x : 15, 

" But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the 
things which God hath prepared for them that love 
Him." I Corinthians ii . 9. 

Time would fail me, beloved, to tell all at this time 
that God's counsel teaches us, but enough has been 
said to save or sink a world. I have told it for nineteen 
years from the sacred desk to you. I will give an ac- 
count for all I have said, and you will have to give an 
account for all you have heard. Take warning, ye 
professors in Christ, let His counsel be your guide. 
Take heed, ye unbelievers, "Look and live," " Hear, 
and your souls shall live," saith God. 

I have not failed before God to declare unto you 
all His counsel during my ministry and pastorate under 
all circumstances. Have ye obeyed ? 

Why is the spirit so lukewarm among us. Why is 
there so much backwardness among us to-day ? 

Because you have failed to take heed to God's 
counsel. " As ye received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye 
in Him," is the divine counsel. 



Follow not the fashion of this world, but follow 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Priest, and King. 

Who will accept God's counsel this morning ? 

Who will lay hold upon eternal life ? Will the 
wanderer return ? 

Will you make a new start toward the kingdom of 
our God, brethren, and do better in the future, by God's 
help, than in the past ? 

Be more faithful and dutiful to your God and your- 
self, and let your liberality abound more to God's 
cause, that when life's toilsome battle shall be over, and 
victory won, with joy we may be able to say, like Paul: 

"I have fought a good fight; I have finished my 
course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid 
up for me a crown of righteousness which the righteous 
judge shall give me at that day, not to me only, but 
unto all who love His appearing." 



A letter from Rev. R. S. MacArthur, D.D., Pastor 
Calvary Baptist Church : 

New York, Nov. 25, 1896. 
Rev. D. W. Wisher: 

Dear Brother. — I have learned with much interest 
that you are about to publish a volume giving a review 
of the nineteen years of excellent service which you 
have rendered as pastor of the Mt. Olivet Baptist 
Church of this city. You have labored earnestly, con- 
tinuously, and wisely. God has crowned your efforts 
with many tokens of His favor; the brethren have 
given you their hearty sympathy and fraternal esteem. 
I trust that God may make the years to come much 
more fruitful than even the best years of the past. 
Your sincere friend and brother, 

R. S. MacArthur. 



D. P. Reid, D.D.S, 

All branches modern Dentistry. Branch: 

Gas and other anaesthetics ad- 395 Gold St., 

ministered. 495 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn, 

near 30th Street. near Willoughby. 

New York, Oct., 1896. 

Rev. D. W. Wisher, 
Pastor Mt. Olivet Baptist Church: 

Dear Sir: — Knowing personally of the great work 
you have done, and are still doing, I offer you my most 
hearty congratulations upon the rounding out of nine- 
teen years of usefulness in your present field of labor. 

I recall with pleasure the unequalled rapidity of 
growth, spiritual and temporal, which has ever 
attended the church from an embryo. 

Yes, nineteen years ago worshipping in a dwelling 
on Twenty-sixth Street, with twenty-one members, 
until under your zealous administration it was necessary 
to seek a more spacious place, and so you found refuge 
on Thirty-seventh Street. 

After worshipping there for a while, and working 
with the same zeal, more room was again needed. You, 
therefore, moved your church on Seventh Avenue. 

The same difficulty which confronted you at the 
two previous places of worship soon confronted you 
here, owing to the growth of your church, viz.: not 
room enough; therefore, in 1884, y° u purchased and 
moved into a handsome gray stone building on West 
Fifty-third Street, and to-day that little Mission has 
developed into grand Mt. Olivet, of magnificent pro- 
portions, numbering about fourteen hundred members. 

Very often I recall to memory long ago — even be- 
fore I left home to attend professional college — when I 
sat in your class in the Sunday-school, of which the 
writer had the honor of being secretary at one time, 

36 



and listened to you explain the Bible, although perhaps 
nine years ago, it seems to me like yesterday, 

I am only too sorry that, owing to professional 
duties, I cannot attend the Sunday-school which has 
done me so much good, and which I love. May your 
church and the Sunday-school forever flourish. Pulpit 
and pew are to be congratulated, for no church in New 
York has been more ably pastored for nineteen years, 
and no pastor has a more appreciative flock. "May 
God continue to prosper Mt. Olivet." 

D. P. Reid, D.D.S. 



Trustee of a Glorious Gospel, his 
Thankfulness and his Duty. 

SERMON preached by 

. . . REV. D. W. WISHER . . . 

Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York City 

At the i 8th Anniversary of his Pastorate 

October 27, 1895, ll A.M. 



"According to the Glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which 
was committed to my trust." 

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, 
for that He counted me faithful, patting me into the ministry." 
I Timothy i: 11-12. 

"For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; 
for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not 
the Gospel." I Corinthians ix: 16. 



Dear Brethren. — I thank God, through the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who has saved me and made me a minister 
of His, and entrusted me with his glorious Gospel, that 
I am permitted by Him to stand here to-day at the 
close of eighteen years as your pastor. 

My soul is filled with joy and gratitude to God, and 
to you, for all that has been done for the bitter and for 
the sweet, for I have done nothing, the Lord has done 
all that has been done here for the prosperity of this 
Zion. Give God the glory, for He alone gave strength, 
watched, and kept watered, and shined upon us from on 
high. 

39 



So we say, like the Psalmist, " If it had not 
been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel 
say." 

" If it had not been the Lord who was on our side 
when men rose up against us." 

" Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their 
wrath was kindled against us." 

" Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the streams 
had gone over our souls." 

" Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a 
prey to their teeth." 

" Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of 
the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are escaped." 

" Our help is in the name of the Lord who made 
heaven and earth." 

Eighteen years ago to-day the Lord brought us to- 
gether and married us, as it seems, though small in 
numbers — only twenty-one — meeting then in the small 
house at 165 West 26th Street, and with only $5 in our 
treasury, and was looked upon by many as a people of 
insignificance, and with very few friends. But God was 
for us, and He was more than all against us. 

I was but a boy, comparatively speaking, only 
twenty-four years of age, coming — as I was called by 
this church, which was known then as the Mt. Olivet 
Baptist Mission — from the paint-ladders of my home in 
Norfolk, Va. 

I had only been married a little over two years, and 
* was the father of two children — one died and one lived — 
James E. Wisher, the captain of the first colored com- 
pany of B. B. B. of this city. 
40 



" The Lord has done great things for us, whereof 
we are glad/' 

Two churches have been organized from this 
church since I have been pastor of Mount Olivet Bap- 
tist Church: The Bethel Baptist Church, of which the 
Rev. George W. Krygar is pastor, which is in a flourishing 
condition. They have purchased a beautiful meeting- 
house, and have paid all but $100 on it ; the Sharon 
Baptist Church, also organized from this church, in 
East 97th Street, this city, is growing in membership, 
and is in much need of a larger house of worship than 
what they now have, which is only a store, which they 
rent. They are under the care of a Licentiate of our 
church, Brother G. W. Bailey, who is doing a grand 
work, and he can say, like David: " The Lord has 
done wonderful things for us, whereof we are glad." 

Much good work can be done, but we are hindered, 
as poor people, financially. The Gospel is much 
cramped in our work here. Much of our time — which 
should be devoted to the interests of the salvation of 
souls—is taken up in trying to raise sufficient money to 
defray the current expenses of the church ; and yet, 
with all this, we can sometimes scarcely make our 
receipts, derived from church collections, entertain- 
ments, etc., meet the demands. Especially has this 
been the case during the last three years of my con- 
nection with the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, and 
which has been the darkest days of financial embarrass- 
ment which we have seen since we have been together. 
There is much work to be done in this field, and help is 
needed at all times. Oh, that the Lord might open 



some kind heart who may interest himself to help us in 
this great work, for it is more than one man can do. 

The Sunday-school is in a good condition — num- 
bering about two hundred and fifty scholars, with thirty 
teachers and officers. Many precious souls have been 
brought to Christ through the Sunday-school. 

The Young People's Association has also done 
much good work for the Lord Jesus Christ, in bringing 
many of the young people to a knowledge of the Lord, 
and in strengthening the weak ones, and is still working 
to the glory of God. 

The Young People's Bible Progressive Association 
is a new organization, only a few months old, and meets 
every Sunday afternoon at 4.30 o'clock, and is doing a 
grand work. Both the old and young are beginning to 
see the necessity and benefits of studying the Bible. 

O God of Love and Truth, 

Who is like unto thee ? 
Great things hast Thou done. 

Thou gavest Thyself 
For us ; abide forever here. 

O, Lord Jesus, there is none 

Like unto Thee ; 

Thou Rose of Sharon, 

Thou Lilly of the Valley, 
Thou Bright and Morning Star. 

Praise God all ye people, 

Who has kept pastor and church 

Lo, these eighteen years, 

Amidst sorrows, joy, sin, and death ; 

Blessed be the name of the Lord. 

42 



O, Lord come in power, 

Overshadow us now : 
Holy Spirit, come ; 

In faith we wait upon Thy word, 
Come quickly Lord Jesus, come. 

Dear brethren, I came not to thee with enticing 
words, nor a flattering tongue, but simple, and plain, 
and in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I sought not this position as your pastor, as many 
did, but you called me unexpectedly, to my surprise. 
Surely the Lord must have directed you to do so by 
His Holy Spirit. Praise His name, for He is worthy of 
all praise. 

I received Christ as my personal Saviour when I 
was thirteen years old. I joined the First Baptist 
Church, Bute Street, Norfolk, Va., and was baptized by 
Rev. Lewis Tucker. I was then called to the work of 
the Gospel ministry by the Lord Jesus Christ. I real- 
ized my incompleteness — as I had only had a common- 
school education — and I realized it was no small matter 
to preach the Gospel, as 1 was a very young boy, and 
had no experience. I tried hard to get rid of the 
burden, but I found that the Spirit of the Lord God 
was upon me, and He had chosen me from my mother's 
womb, yea, before then, that I should preach His 
Gospel wherever He leads me, and whatever He com- 
mands me to do, for the salvation of souls, and for the 
comfort of his people, and to the terror of the enemy 
of men's souls. 

I was licensed to preach by Rev. Thomas Henson, 
who was my pastor at that time. 



I met with great opposition from the beginning, 
but it never daunted my courage. It always pushes me 
forward, like the heavy waves and winds does the ship on 
the ocean. 

The more I am opposed the stronger I get in the 
Lord, and the nearer I get to Him the more faith, grace, 
and help I get. 

Praise His name, for He is true to His promise. 
I have found Him so all the way along through the 
journey of my life thus far. " Lo, I am with you 
always, even unto the end of the world." Amen. 

Then these words of His are more encouragement 
to His ministers : " My grace is sufficient for thee, for 
my strength is made perfect in weakness." 

Then I glory in my infirmities. Lord, I will gladly 
go and follow wheresoever Thou leadest, and do what- 
soever Thou bidst me do. 

According to the Greek idiom, it is " Lo, I am 
with you all day" — all your sorrowful days, all your 
joyful days ; all your preaching days, all your praying 
days ; all your days of trouble ; and all your silent days* 
when your tongue is stopped — and no one knows what 
a trial that is to a minister, but a minister himself, when 
he is laid aside from duty and cannot preach the Word 
of Life. But in all days, whatever they might be, He 
said, " I am with you." 

I, Immanuel, your Incarnate God and Saviour ; I, 
in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily ; 
I, who am God over all the world and all creatures ; I, 
who was pierced to save you, and who lives to help you, 
" Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the world." 



O, splendid consolation ! O, glorious hope ! O, 
precious strength ; who is like unto our God ? Praise 
His name, there is none like Him. 

Apostle Paul, a prisoner and minister of the 
mystery of universal salvation, Paul wrote the first part 
of my text, while a prisoner at Rome, to the Phillippians, 
and sent salutation, and began by saying, as he writes 
to his son in the Gospel: 

"Paul and Timotheus, bondmen of Jesus Christ, 
to all God's people in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, 
with the bishops and deacons." 

"Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, 
and from our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Many were the difficulties, and adversities, and 
trials of the Apostle's life from the beginning to the end. 

But nothing separated him from the love of God, 
which was in Jesus Christ — not even death ; he was 
chosen of God, as it was stated to Ananias (Acts ix:i5). 
" But the Lord said unto him: Go thy way, for he is a 
chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the 
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Isreal." 

The Apostle Paul preached everywhere he went, 
or was carried, in freedom, in bonds, or before kings, or 
in misery. 

It was near the close of his earthly labor when he 
wrote the first part of my text. He was then in 
chains, preaching the glorious Gospel of the Son of 
God, and having converts in sight of the royal home of 
Nero, that murderer of the children of God. 

Nothing can stop God's ministers; but human made 
ministers must stop, and do stop. 



Men cannot make ministers of God ; they who 
make it simply a profession of work, do so because they 
are hireling. 

We have the keynote sounded backing up the great 
commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ after His 
resurrection (Matt, xxviii: 19, 20; St. Mark xvi: 16). 

" According to the glorious Gospel of the blessed 
God, which was committed to my trust." 

" And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath 
enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me 
into the ministry" (I Tim. i: 11-12). 

The last of my text in (I Cor. ix: 16) "For though 
I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of ; for 
necessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is unto me if I 
preach not the Gospel." 

Great God of love — truth, 

How wonderful Thou art 

To make Thine Eternal Counsel known 

In the Gospel of Thy Son. 

Good news is, as the sweetest music, 
It lights up darkened souls 
And makes the devil fly 
And sets the prisoner free. 

Blessed Gospel, truth Divine, 
Thou art ever mine to live; 
Precious treasure, honeycomb, 
Gospel grace, Gospel power, 
Ever feed me, whilst I stay. 
46 



Gospel banner float aloft, 

From Calvary Mount it was unfurled; 

The enemy attempt to pull it down, 

But morning broke upon the tomb, 

Son of God plants it stronger, 

By rising from the gloomy tomb. 

We are drawing nearer to the burning bush; the 
ground we stand on is holy ground; by the help of your 
prayer and the aid of the Holy Spirit, God grant that 
we shall be overshadowed with the glory cloud, while I 
strive to preach the Word of God. 

Let us consider four propositions: 

/. The glorious Gospel. 

St. Paul gloried in the Gospel of the Son of God, 
and every true minister of the Lord Jesus does the 
same, for He openly declared that all along through 
life, even when He said, "God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
world." 

The words " glorious Gospel " kindle the greatest 
enthusiasm in every true minister of Jesus Christ; they 
burn like fire; Heaven comes down and kisses the 
earth, and glory shines around. This the apostle had 
realized, for he knew what it had done for him, bring- 
ing him and changing him from one of the chief of sin- 
ners to a saint, and a bold hero, and a leader indeed 
unto the people of the once persecuted Gospel that he 
tried to demolish. 

So filled is he that he speaks aloud: "I am debtor 



both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the 
wise and to the unwise. 

" So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the 
Gospel to you that are at Rome also. 

11 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also the Greek." 

/. What is the Gospel ? 

The Gospel is good news, glad tidings. It is the 
proclamation of God's grace and mercy to the chiefest 
of sinners, through His dear and beloved Son, even to 
every soul that believeth on Him. 

It is the stream of love that floweth out of the 
heart of God, and runneth through the channel of Christ 
Jesus, the Blessed Mediator, bringing with it life, light, 
pardon, righteousness, peace, holiness, and Heaven. 

The very nature of the Gospel is God's love, 
Christ's death and resurrection. St. Paul says to the 
Corinthians: "But we preach Christ crucified." 

Oh, that I might never forget it ! Oh, that the 
Holy Spirit might graciously write it deeper on our 
hearts. The Gospel is a system of grace from begin- 
ning to end; everything connected with the Gospel 
is gracious, as every blessing communicated in the 
Gospel is freely given. No part of it comes to a crea- 
ture because he deserves it, but it all flows out from the 
heart of God through His dear Son, and the Holy 
Spirit, to those who deserve it not. 

The very nature of the Gospel is holy. 

Its aim and object is to turn men from darkness 
into light, and from the power of Satan unto God, and 
48 



make them holy; while the ground-work of our accept- 
ance in the Beloved is His work, not our work. He 
paid our debt in His own blood, and rose for our justifi- 
cation. It is what He did, not what we do, for we can 
do nothing. What He suffered, not what we suffer. 
What He achieved, not what we accomplish. Yet the 
great end of it which bears upon the character of those 
who receive it, is that of sanctifying them unto God. 
This is the " Gospel of the glory of the blessed God," 
as some read it; or " the glory of God " might mean 
Jesus Christ, "who is the brightness of God's glory, the 
image of the invisible God, in whose face the glory of 
God shines." (II Cor. iv: 4, 6). 

The Gospel of the glory of Christ is the true 
meaning. 

The glorious Gospel has turned and overturned the 
wicked kingdoms, saved millions, made the devil leave 
the enchanting ground, and caused the wilderness to 
bloom and blossom as a rose. Made the parched 
grounds a pool of water, loosed the prisoners, brought 
Heaven to earth. Chained the powers of death and 
hell, opened up the highways, rolled back the Jordan 
of death, and gave us the victory, and Heaven our 
eternal home. 

II. God's trustees of this glorious Gospel, 

St. Paul says this ' ' Gospel was committed to his 
trust." The Lord Jesus Christ did not always choose 
the learned and great men of this world to be His 
trustees or preachers, yet St. Paul was a scholar. 
Christ called the poor fishermen, but He taught them. 
This is no plea for ignorant men to enter the ministry 

49 



without being called of God, and have a thorough 
training in some theological school, or by some private 
teacher, or else have a common school education — the 
former being the better. But that day is past. "Open 
your mouth and God will fill it." St. Paul charges his 
son, Timothy, to " Study to shew thyself approved unto 
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Tim. ii: 15). 

The text reads : " According to the glorious Gos- 
pel of the blessed God, which was committed to my 
trust." Then he says to the Corinthian brethren : "A 
dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me." 
That is, if he failed to preach the Gospel that he was 
entrusted with, woe is he, for he would receive an awful 
punishment for his neglect, but to preach it he would 
receive a glorious reward. (Read Gal. ii : 7, also Col. 
1:25). 

4 'Whereof I am made a minister, according to the 
dispensation of God, which is given to me for you, to 
fully preach the Word of God/' 

Again St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians : " But 
as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the 
Gospel, even so we speak ; not as pleasing men, but 
God, which trieth our hearts." (I Thess. ii : 4). 

If we seek to please men we are not servants of 
Christ. This Paul stated to the Galatian brethren, to 
confirm what had been said of how he was made a trus- 
tee of God. The Lord spoke unto Ananias in the vis- 
ion at Paul's conversion, that he (Paul) " was a chosen 
vessel unto me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, 
and kings, and the children of Israel." 
50 



A minister of Jesus Christ must have good report, 
that is, he must bear the highest standard of Christian 
character — (i blameless, the husband of one wife, vigi- 
lant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt 
to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of 
filthy lucre ; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous. 

" One that ruleth well his own house, having his 
children in subjection with all gravity. 

"For if a man know not how to rule his own 
house, how shall he take care of the house of God ?" 

Brethren, we are told in God's Word to " lay hands 
suddenly on no man." Some men think preaching the 
Gospel is an easy work. I have heard many say that it 
is an easy way to make money ; but ah, it is not so. 
Very few men get much money for preaching the Gos- 
pel, except a few who happen to fall among the rich 
class of people. But sometimes they suffer great hun- 
ger, and have great want of the necessities of life for 
themselves and family. This I know. St. Paul suffered, 
and others, and I have even suffered since I have been 
here these eighteen years, and more so in the past three 
years than ever before in my life. But I thank God 
that I live, and He provides for me in some way or 
another, and my faith is not daunted. The preaching 
of the Gospel is an easy work to them who are called 
of the Lord Jesus and qualified ; because He strength- 
ens them within by the Holy Spirit, and causes their 
faith to grow stronger, and makes their burdens lighter, 
for His "grace is sufficient for them." On the other 
hand, many who have professed to be called to preach, 
and who undertake the work of the preaching of the 



Gospel, make a total failure, and prove themselves to be 
nothing but hirelings. The world is full of them to-day, 
"When he seeth the wolf coming, he fleeth." 

I am one of God's trustees. I know it. He has 
proved it to me, and to the world, by all He has done 
in and through me. He has used me as an instrument 
in His hands, by the preaching of this glorious Gospel ; 
in saving many precious souls ; and that is my glory, 
like St. Paul, when he said : " That I might win some." 

But the air is filled with the cry of some men of to- 
day, looking for big churches, large salaries, etc. Let 
me say right here, young men : Go out into the high- 
ways, if you are God's trustees, and cut down the trees, 
hew out the timbers, and God will help you to build 
large churches. St. Paul speaks about building on 
other men's foundations. What I mean by that is, to go 
out and organize churches where they are needed, and 
preach the glorious Gospel, and win souls to the Lord 
Jesus, and you will have large churches. Stop splitting 
and tearing other churches to pieces, by undermining 
pastors of churches, and making discord among mem- 
bers of other churches, so that you can get in. God 
does not call such men to preach His Gospel. 

Much has been said by ministers around in different 
gatherings where I have been about " Wisher's big 
church/' But, remember, I was called here to be the 
pastor of the Mr. Olivet Baptist Church when she was 
only a mission, under the watch care of the Fifth Avenue 
Baptist Church. The Rev. Thomas Armitage, D.D., 
L.L.D., Pastor, Brother Sydney Root, and the late 
Deacon B. F. Judson, all of the Fifth Avenue 



Baptist Church ; C. T. Evens, Secretary of the 
Baptist City Mission, and Member of the Calvary 
Baptist Church, and the Rev. R. S. MacArthur, D.D., 
its Pastor, and others, tendered their services and 
preached for you, when there were only twenty-one 
members belonging to the mission, with but five dollars 
in the treasury. 

I left a good salary and good home, to receive only 
five dollars per week and one room. I did not hesitate 
to count the small amount of money which I was to re- 
ceive as remuneration for my services Many at home 
laughed me to scorn when I left home for such a 
pitiful sum of five dollars per week and one room. But 
I was moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, My soul 
longed for the salvation of souls, and that has always 
been my prayer, and God has answered my prayers and 
blessed the efforts. 

I thank God for the growth and the great enlarge- 
ment of this Zion under me, His humble "trustee," who 
was "counted" faithful to be "entrusted " with such a 
"glorious Gospel." 

God grant that I may live long to preach this 
" glorious Gospel " and win many precious souls to 
Christ ; for I seek not the honor of men, but of God. 

The " trustees " of God are human, and they are 
not so perfect that they cannot make mistakes the 
same as other men. It is the duty of the church to 
pray for them, and to assist them in any reasonable 
way, as the Scripture so directs. 

III. His duty. 

The duty of the " trustees" of the "glorious Gos- 



pel " is to preach the Word of God. St. Paul says in 
my text : " Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel." But 
St. Paul says "he is sent to preach the Gospel," and 
not to baptize ; but our Lord Jesus Christ gave the 
commission to His apostles : "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature/' 

" He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; 
but he that believeth not shall be damned." 

St. Paul's charge to *his son Timothy was to 
"preach the Word." " I charge thee, therefore, before 
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the 
quick and the dead at His appearing and His king- 
dom." 

" Preach the Word. Be instant, in season, out of 
season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering 
and doctrine." 

"For the time will come when they will not endure 
sound doctrine ; but after their own lust shall they heap 
to themselves teachers having itching ears. 

"And they shall turn away their ears from the 
truth, and it shall be turned into fables." 

We are not called to play and make fun in the pul- 
pit, and to tell fables and false things about God's 
Word, and try to tickle men's ears as to suit their 
fancy ; but we are called to preach to please Christ. We 
are called to " preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ," and 
to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We 
are not only to preach it in the pulpit, but we are to 
preach it in our walks, conversations, and company, and 
in our whole life and character, wherever we go, or 
wherever we be. 



Everyone of God's "trustees" feel that burden, 
and they are not satisfied unless they are preaching the 
Gospel. This is their first and whole duty, and the rest 
is secondary, such as visiting the sick. Of course, the 
sick must be looked after, but we are not called to 
do that, but to " preach the Word," and lose no time in 
doing our whole duty in that direction. For, says 
Jesus, "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached 
to all the world for a witness, and to all nations, and 
then shall the end come" (Matt, xxiv: 14). 

The text says : "Woe is me if I preach not the 
Gospel." 

We stated the duty of God's "trustees " with the 
main object, but allow me to state it more fully : It is 
to save souls. This was the object of Christ, to save 
sinners ; and, of course, this is the object of preachers. 

The preacher's responsibility is great. But let us 
endeavor to see just what it is. He is not to do things 
beyond his power. He is one in a series of agencies, 
prepared by divine wisdom, for the accomplishment of an 
infinite end, and he should know his work. He is not 
the head spring of salvation. He is a means to an 
end. 

Christ is the life ; He is to proclaim this lite. 
Christ is the light of men ; He is to diffuse this life. 

But just take notice : " Christ is the way and the 
truth;" the preacher is to instruct men in that way, and 
to open unto them the truth, as it is in Christ Jesus. 
He is to light up a blaze in this dark world ; to pro- 
claim it far and near that " Christ Jesus is the Saviour 
of the world : " and that " Whosoever believeth in Him 



should not perish, but have everlasting life." Preach 
it in life ; preach it in the power of the Holy Spirit ; 
preach it in every characteristic of life ; and preach it 
in death. 

Take Notice : The preacher has to live, " If 
we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great 
thing if we shall reap your carnal things ? 

" If others be partakers of this power over 
you, are not we rather ? Nevertheless we have not 
used this power ; but suffer all things, lest we should 
hinder the Gospel of Christ. 

" Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which 
preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel/' (I Cor. 
ix :n-i4). 

" Let him that is taught in the word communicate 
unto him that teacheth in all good things/' (Gal. 
vi:6). 

" Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy 
of double honor, especially they who labor in the word 
and doctrine. 

" For the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle 
the ox that treadeth out the corn. And the laborer is 
worthy of his reward." (I Tim. v:i7~i8). 
N. B. Our race of people do not support their ministry 
as they ought. Many have the wrong conception of 
God's ministers, and it is for the lack of knowing God's 
Word ; and yet the people are not to bear all the 
blame ; it is a great deal in the so-called ministers, who 
are hirelings. God grant for the day to break and the 
dark clouds to disperse, and the light of God's truth to 
shine all around, and all know their duty and do it! 

56 



IV. His Thankfulness. 

St. Paul says last of all in the text : " I thank 
Christ Jesus, our Lord, who enabled me for that He 
counted me faithful in putting me into the ministry." 
That is, He gave him power, and wisdom, and strength, 
and the Holy Ghost. 

St. Paul did not put himself in the ministry, and 
neither did I ; but he thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who could change such a sinner as he was and find 
him worthy to be " entrusted and appointed " a minis- 
ter of the Gospel. 

This outburst of praise for the mercy of the Lord 
Jesus Christ which called him to the ministry of the 
Word, is caused by the thought which immediately 
precedes of his being " entrusted" with the Gospel, He 
disclaims any notion of merit on his part, and so does 
every one of whom the Lord Jesus sends forth. 

" That enables me." Let us read where his power 
came from, from the following passages of Scripture : 

" But the Lord said unto him, go thy way ; for he 
is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the 
gentile, and kings, and the children of Isreal." 

" For I will show him how great things he must 
suffer for my name's sake." 

"And Ananias went his way and entered into the 
house ; and putting his hands on him said, brother 
Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in 
the way as thou comest hath sent me, that thou might- 
est received thy sight and be filled with the Holy 
Ghost." 

" And immediately there fell from his eyes as it 



had been scales, and he received sight forthwith and 
arose, and was baptized." 

" And when he had received meat, he was strength- 
ened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples 
which were at Damascus." 

"And straightway he preached Christ in the 
synagogues, that He is the Son of God." 

" But all that heard Him was amazed, and said ; Is 
not this He that destoyed them which called on this 
name in Jerusalem, and come hither for that intent, 
that He might bring them bound unto the chief 
priests ? " 

" But Saul increase the more in strength, and con- 
founded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving 
that this is very Christ." Acts ix : 15-22. 

" And the night following the Lord stood by him, 
and said, Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast tes- 
tified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness 
also at Rome." Acts xxiii : 11. 

a But rise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have ap- 
peared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a min- 
ister and a witness both of these things who thou hast 
seen, and of those things in the which I will appear 
unto thee." 

11 Delivering thee from the people, and from the 
Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee," "To open their 
eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive 
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which 
are sanctified by faith that is in me/' Acts xxvi : 16-18. 

" For there stood by me this night the angel of 



God, whose I am, and whom I serve/' Acts xxvii:23. 

(i Finally, my bretnren, be strong in the Lord, and 
in the power of his might." Eph. vi:io. 

"I can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me." Phil. iv:i3. 

" Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and 
strengthened me ; that by me the preaching might be 
fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and 

I was delivered out of he mouth of the Lion." II Tim. 
iv:i7. 

11 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for 
thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmi- 
ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

II Cor. xxii:9. 

It denotes the giving of that peculiar power which 
was the gift of the Holy Ghost, and which was 
necessary for the work of an Apostle, to enable him to 
bear witness to Christ in the face of an adverse world. 

This power Christ promised to His Apostles before 
His Ascension. Acts i : 18. St. Paul received it after 
his conversion. Acts ix : 22. He continued to hold it 
throughout his Apostleship. Phil, iv : 13. He enjoyed 
it, especially at the reproach of his martyrdon. II Tim. 
iv ; 17. It comprises strength of faith, strength to tes- 
tify and to preach ; strength to endure and suffer. 

Brethren, I thank God this morning that I am a 
poor sinner saved by " grace through faith." That the 
Lord Jesus made me worthy and gave me faith and 
strength, and u appointed " me His minister to preach 
His Gospel. 



I have nothing to boast of, "save in the Lord 
Jesus." I could not have succeeded if I had put myself 
in the ministry. I would have failed long ago, for there 
is no doing power in man except from above. 

I thank God this morning for His goodness. His 
promises are sure. He has always been with me, to 
cheer, to comfort, and to strengthen me. He leads me, 
teaches me, and protects me, for I have found Him a 
" Strong Tower in the day of trouble.'"' 

I thank Him, for He is worthy to be praised. He 
has given me souls, in the midst of storms and tem- 
pests, and when it seeemed as though my enemies 
would almost devour me. He has been my stay. 
In sickcess, and almost death, He has been my 
help. 

Brethren, time is short. The weary pilgrim march 
of my ministry will soon close. The last sermon will be 
preached, the last hymn sung, the last soul converted, 
the last battle fought ! Then I shall bind my sheaves 
together and stand on the Pinnacle of Time and say, 
like St. Paul, " I have fought the good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which 
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that 
day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that 
love his appearing." 

It is a glorious Gospel, 
A Gospel of God and His Son; 
It brings good news from afar; 
It brings Life, Joy, and Peace. 



Ye trumpeters ! Awake! Awake! 

Sound the alarm in Jesus' name! 

Proclaim Christ crucified! 

Who has "entrusted and enabled " thee to preach! 

Proclaim salvation far and wide; 
Christ has paid the debt; 
Thank God, and proclaim the news: 
Jesus is King and Lord over all. 

Lord Jesus, help me to proclaim 
This rich Gospel news; 
And if the Lord will help me, 
I will preach it evermore. 

Amen. 



Statistical Report of 

Rev. D. W. Wisher's Pastoral Work 

During His Eighteen Years' Pastorate of Mt. Olivet 

Baptist Church, New York City, N. Y., 

From October, 1877, to October, 1895. 



Sermons preached, 4,067 ; expostulations, 1,202 ; 
converts, 1,380 ; baptisms, 1,043 ; by letter, 344 ; by ex- 
perience, 431 ; excluded, 235 ; by restoration, 25; pas- 
toral and sick visits, 5,075 ; funerals attended, 1,375 ; 
prayer meetings attended, 1,840 ; marriages performed, 
335 ; ordained ministers, 7 , licensed ministers, 5 ; pres- 
ent membership, 1,500. 

FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 
Moneys Raised and Expended for all Purposes. 



1877. 

Current expenses, including repairs on 

building $42,432 60 

Charity, Home and Foreign Missionary, 

and Educational Work 12,000 00 

•Paid on building 39,000 00 

Total amount raised and expended $93>43 2 60 

Out of this amount comes the royal gifts 
of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Mr. Wil- 
liam M. Isaacs, Mr. James Pyle, Mr. 
W. A Cauldwell, Mr. Samuel S. Con- 
stant, Mrs. Nathan Bishop, Mr. J. A. 
Bostwick, Mr. J. F. Comey, Mr. B. F. 
Judson, Mr. R. Parker, and others, 
through the Baptist City Mission, 
amounting to $18,000 00 

62 



Resolution offered and voted upon by the Church and Congregation, 
Sunday morning, October 27th, 1895, anc * sen * t° the Pastor, 

REV. D. W. WISHER, 

at the close of the preaching of his 

EIGHTEENTH ANNIVERSARY SERMON. 



RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas, We are grateful for having heard the 
Eighteenth Anniversary Sermon of our Pastor, Rev. D. 
W. Wisher, this morning, which was, in our opinion, of 
the highest spiritual order, of the deepest inspiration 
and thought, and of the most wholesome instruction ; 
and 

Whereas, We believe that the preaching of such 
characteristic sermons as that preached by our Pastor 
this morning are of great instrumentality in reaching 
the dark recesses of the hearts of sinners, lifting the 
veil of ignorance from the face of truth, as in Christ 
Jesus our Lord, destroying those vile superstitions in- 
herent with the irreligious, and, undoubtedly, elevating 
both church and people to a higher plane of Christian 
intelligence ; and 

Whereas, We are greatly pleased with the 
Eighteenth Anniversary Sermon of our Pastor, preached 
this morning, which was a clear, lucid exposition of the 
Gospel ; and in order to express to our Pastor our ap- 
preciation of the same, 

Resolved, That we tender our many thanks and 
congratulations to our Pastor, Rev. D. W. Wisher, for 
his untiring and unswerving energies in the cause of 
the spreading of the Gospel, and in the bringing of 
many souls to Christ ; and for his most valued services 

63 



which he has rendered us since his inauguration as 
pastor of this church in having been the principle agent 
in bringing this church to its present spiritual, social, 
intellectual and financial status, 

Resolved, That we kindly request our Pastor, Rev. 
D. W. Wisher, to publish his Eighteenth Anniversary 
Sermon, as preached this morning, for distribution 
(about 2,000 copies), that it may be to those who were 
not so fortunate as we to be present this morning, as 
beneficial, instructive, and spirit-refreshing as it has 
been to us. 

Respectfully submitted, 

R. H. De Sayles, 
H. L. Jones, 

Authors of Resolutions. 

(Signed.) 

Phillip Pride, John Brown, J. A. Gardiner, Alfred 
Parham, John B. Coles, Miss Susan Jones, Mrs. 
Getsey Tapley, W. H. Moore, W. A. Smythe, Mrs. 
Eveline Humbles, J. E. Decker, J. T. Johnstone, W. H. 
Holloway, H. M. Lymus, Mrs. H. M. Lymus, David 
Grant, Miss Annie Hopson, Mrs. Hattie Cox, Miss 
Maggie Mynor, Peter Hill, Mrs. America Greene, Mrs. 
Lizzie Johns, Mrs. Agnes Kirk, Miss Sarah Roots, 
Mrs. Martha Jackson, Miss Mildridge Dean, Mrs. Mary 
Adams, Miss Mary Preston, Miss Julia Anderson, 
Miss Agnes Harrison, Miss Anna Wilson, Miss 
Hannah Allen, Henry Darnell, John Twine, 
Miss Herbetine McGuire, Mrs. E. H. Butler, Mrs. 
Melvina Walton, John W. Hendricks, Miss M. L. 
Hattaway,! Mrs. Mahala Edwards, Miss L. B. Pride, 
Miss Eliza^Lewis, Miss Annie Johnson, Geo. A. John- 
son, W. H.^Mayo, Mrs. Elivira Allen, Edward Crabb, 
Miss Mary 'E. Burges, Mrs. Annie Wilson, H. Richard- 
son, Miss Jennie A. Page, Mrs. Mamie Edwards, Mrs. 

64 



Charlotte Pierce, Mrs. Hannah Harris, Mrs. Lizzie 
Holleway, Mrs. Lilian Queen, Joseph Brown, Miss 
Georgie Martin, Mrs. Emma Billups, John Allen, 
Joseph Wallace, Wm. Tazewelle, Mrs. Wm. Tazewelle, 
W. H. Jackson, Henry Greene, Miss Sarah Fenix, 
C. S. Carter, F. W. Jackson, Miss Hattie Haskin, 
Mrs. Lucinda Walton, Miss Annie E. Jones, Mrs. F. 
Robinson, Mrs. Emmiline Brown, Mrs. Emma Nevis, 
Miss Francis E. Hinton, Miss Georgie Brown, Mrs. 
Mary A. Bragg, Mrs. Elizabeth Geyser, Herbert 
Royal, Mrs. Sarah E. Washington, Mrs. G. D. Satter- 
white, Scott Johnson, Robert D. Branch, Mrs. Martha 
L. Smith, John L. Hicks, Miss Alice Morgan, Miss 
Jessey C. Evans, Mrs. Mary Lewis, Miss Fannie R. 
Lewis, Elvira Marten, Mrs. Amada Morrison, C. F. 
Mc Field, Mrs. Bettie Wells, Mrs. Georgia Carter, Miss 
Celestine G. Wisher, Miss Ellen Williams, Mrs. Emma 
Bird, George P.Webb, Robert H. Jones, and many others. 



Notes^on the Public Eighteenth Anniversary 
Celebration, 

Held at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 

161 West Fifty-third Street, New York City, N. Y., 

Thursday Evening, October 31st, 1895. 



On Thursday, October 31st, 1895, it had been 
appointed by the Church for the celebration of the 
Eighteenth Anniversary of the Pastorate of the Rev. 
D. W. Wisher, of the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 161 
West Fifty-third Street, New York City, and a glorious 
time was anticipated, but owing to the great inclemency 
of the weather — a heavy rain storm on that evening — 
many persons were unable to attend. Tables were well 
spread with refreshments, and all of the delicious things 
of the market to help make this celebration superior to 
any heretofore given. But we were sadly disappointed. 
However, as we thought it imprudent to postpone the 
celebration, we went on. 

Only one of the invited speakers, Rev. Ernest 
Lyons, D.D., pastor of St. Marks M. E. Church, West 
Fifty-third Street, New York City, was present, who 
made the principal address of the evening, which was 
powerful, eloquent, and sublime, and who spoke in the 
highest terms of praise of the pastor's work during his 
eighteen years' connection with Mt. Olivet Baptist 
Church. The following are extracts from his speech : 
66 



" Dr. Wisher is a successful pastor. He has ac- 
complished more since he has been here than any other 
minister in this city. Any black man shows himself 
smart when he can get what he wants from the * white 
folks ' to carry on the work here. 

" This is the foremost Church of the denomination 
of Negro Baptists in this country. When they make 
up their summary, they are compelled to concede that 
the Rev. Daniel W. Wisher has contributed largely to 
the Baptist denomination. With all the churches in 
this city, the Mt. Olivet stands in the forefront. 

" There has been much grumbling about your pas- 
tor not visiting the members and congregation as often 
as he ought. They say the same about me — but how 
in the name of God can one man go around and see two 
thousand people and preach the Gospel successfully ? 
How can he do it ? The Church is large enough to 
have an assistant. One man can't do it all. 

" All praise to your successful pastor ! May he 
live long, and you too, to do grander work — to be more 
successful in the future than in the past. 

" He is a man that I love, and have found him the 
same now as when I first met him — a Christian gen- 
tleman, and a Christian minister, always smiling and 
ready to do good wherever and whenever he can — kind 
and gentle in his spirit, and humble in all the walks of 
life." 

The Rev. George H. Boswell, and the Rev. A. M. 
Harrison, invited guests, were also present. 

The music was furnished by the young choir, under 
the leadership of Madame Virginia Scott Hunt, which 

67 



was excellent, and the leader and choir deserve much 
credit. The officers, and many of the general com- 
mittee, worked faithfully in the discharge of their duty, 
and deserve much credit also. 

Many thanks to the committee and the church and 
congregation for their kind donation, though small on 
account of the inclemency of the weather. 

The Deacons and some of the Trustees of the 
church made short addresses in honor of the occasion, 
also Mr. H. L. Jones, Master of Ceremony. 

The pastor made the closing remarks, in response 
to the Rev. Dr. Lyons. One touching remark which he 
made was in regard to his old friend, the late Deacon 
B. F. Judson, of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, who 
always attended his anniversary celebration since he 
has been in the city, but who now sleeps in Jesus, and 
has entered through the gates into that City that he 
always prayed and longed for. He said: "I miss him. 
He was dear to my soul and to this church. When I 
was sick he was with me; when I was well he was with 
me. He was my counsellor and friend indeed." Many 
more things which the pastor said were very instructive 
and interesting, but owing to lack of time and space 
we are compelled to omit it. 

After the pastor finished his remarks, that part of 
the celebration was closed by the singing of the hymn^ 
" Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Then 
everybody retired to the Lecture Room, where they 
feasted on those delicious things which were spread on 
large tables prepared for the occasion. 

Reporters. 

68 



The following are some of the letters of congratu- 
lation, regrets, and extracts from letters received by the 
pastor and Chairman Committee of Arrangements: 

A letter from Bishop W. B. Derrick, D.D., of the 
A. M. E. Church: 
Mr. W. H. Holloway, 12 West 15th Street, 

Chairman of Reception Committee, Eighteenth Anni- 
versary of Rev. Daniel W. Wisher, Pastor Mt. Olivet 
Baptist Church, New York City. 

My dear Sir. — On reaching my office this morning, 
I found among the many letters which had accumulated 
during my absence yours containing an invitation desir- 
ing me to be present on the evening of the celebration 
of the eighteenth anniversary of the Rev. Daniel W. 
Wisher, your very worthy, able, and efficient pastor. 
Gladly would I have attended had I not gone to Ber- 
muda. I would have joined with the great throng 
which attended the celebration for the purpose of doing 
honor to one who is held in high esteem by all true 
lovers of righteousness and truth throughout the city 
and country at large. I am pleased to state that among 
the first of my acquaintances made in the city of 
Norfolk, Va., during the year 1864, your highly es- 
teemed and beloved pastor was among that galaxy. 
During this long acquaintenceship we have watched 
with delight his continued success, especially since his 
coming to the city, where he has so succeesfully led the 
army of the Master, exhibiting as he marched the spirit 
of meekness and Christian manliness, thus achieving for 
himself, and the cause which he so ably represents, a 
great triumph, whereby he has brought your Church 
and congregation to be one among the most flourishing 
in the city. The members of Mt. Olivet Church have 
need to be proud of their pastor. The Baptists of the 
country, and especially of the City of New York, can 
point with pride to his skillful and discreet leadership 

69 



in the affairs of the Church so as to gain the sympathy, 
respect, and confidence of the Board of Missions of the 
great denomination of which your Church forms a part. 
Likewise you are to be congratulated as a Church and 
congregation for the tender and affectionate regard with 
which you have held your pastor as to incite you in 
making ample provision for his and his family's tem- 
poral necessity during his sojourn with you as shepherd 
of the flock of Christ. By this spirit you have mani- 
fested the true knowledge that there is urgent necessity 
for prompt and efficient action on the part of those 
professing to be the followers of Christ in making suit- 
able provision for those who are working for the cause 
of the Master as ministers. Yes, it is the solemn and 
imperative duty of the Church to make abundant pro- 
vision for its ministers and their families, not as a matter 
of charity, but as a right and justice, are equally unques- 
tionable. Your record as a Church shows conclusively 
this duty is fully understood by you. The minister of 
Christ who offers himself to the Church as her servant 
for Jesus' sake has no right to expect in that service 
worldly distinction ; but he has a right to expect that 
while he ministers to God's people in spiritual things, 
they will not forget to minister to him in temporal. 

And now, my dear brother, our prayer is that you, 
the deacons, likewise the men and women, youth and 
children of the Church and congregation, will renew 
your obligation, determined to unite with your dearly 
beloved pastor, all alike pledged to it, each one bearing 
part by prayers, labor, and gifts in carrying on a vigor- 
ous campaign in the name of the Triune God, thus en- 
nabling you in the years which are to come to accom- 
plish more for the Master than in the past, and at last, 
when life's toils are o'er, yourself with the Church, 
standing at its head your affectionate shepherd and 
pastor, waiting for the welcome sound "Well done !" 
I am, Yours in Christ, W. B. Derrick. 



29 East Sixty-ninth Street, 

New York, Oct. 26th, 1895. 
Mr. Wm. H. Holloway, Chairman : 

My Dear Sir : — Your very kind invitation to be 
present on next Thursday evening, and assist in the 
celebration of the Eighteenth Anniversary of the Pas- 
torate of the Rev. D. W. Wisher, is received with a 
great deal of pleasure. 

I shall be present if possible, but the state of my 
health is such as to make my attendance very uncertain. 
It would not be prudent for me to attempt to assume 
the part you so kindly offer me, but if I am permitted 
to come and express the sincere respect and esteem that 
I cherish for my friend of many years, your noble pas- 
tor, I shall not fail to do so. 

Mount Olivet Church, and its eloquent and self- 
denying pastor, and the devoted band of men and 
women who have united to make it what it is, one of 
the foremost churches of our denomination, one looked 
upon as a tower of strength in our great city. That 
your future may be even more than the past, filled with 
successful work for our dear Lord and Master, is the 
earnest prayer of your friend and brother. 

William M. Isaacs. 

Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 
2 West Forty-sixth St., 

New York, Oct. 26th, 1895. 
Mr. Wm. H. Holloway, 

12 East Fifteenth St., City. 
My Dear Brother : — I very deeply regret that an 
engagement to speak in Syracuse on the evening of 
October 31st, will prevent my being at your church at 
the celebration of the Eighteenth Anniversary of your 
Pastor. I should greatly enjoy representing the mother 



church on that occasion, and giving my benediction, to 
the large flourishing and handsome daughter. I con- 
gratulate you on the peace and harmony which has 
reigned in your church, on your true loyalty to the 
Gospel of Christ, and on the man of God who has been 
called to be your pastor. May he have eighteen more 
years to serve you, and may the abundant blessing of 
God rest on him and on you ! 

Deeply regretting that I cannot be with you, I am 
Cordially yours, 

W. H. P. Faunce. 

The following letter, and extract from a letter, was 
received by the pastor from two prominent white 
gentlemen who were present on the morning when the 
'Eighteenth Anniversary Sermon " preached. 

The letter is from Mr. George Wise, who is one of 
the vice-presidents of the Christian Evidence Society at 
Liverpool, England, a member of the late Mr. Spurgeon's 
Church, and lecturer on biblical and scientific topics, 
and who was invited by the pastor to take a seat on the 
platform with him. 

"New York, N. Y., Oct. 28th, 1895. 
Rev. D. W. Wisher. 

Rev. and Dear Sir : Kindly allow me, as a stranger to 
the good people of New York, to tender to you my 
sincere thanks for the truly able, eloquent, pointed, in- 
tensely practical sermon which you preached on Sunday 
morning last, October 27th, 1895. 

Permit me to add that, if there be one thing about 
the sermon which struck me more forcibly than any- 
thing else, it was its profound spirituality. Christ was 
the sole theme. He was indeed the Alpha and the 
Omega. 

Trusting you may be spared to proclaim Christ's 

72 



Gospel for many years to come, and also to continue 
your faithful ministry to God's own dear people. 
I am, dear sir, 

Yours respectfully, 

George Wise." 

The extract is from a letter by Mr. D. C. Over- 
baugh, a coal and lumber merchant of this city, and 
who is also a great lecturer and Sunday school worker 
of the Hudson River Baptist Association, and who, with 
his wife, occupied a front pew in the church. 

"Accidentally, my wife and I, while looking for 
Dr. MacArthur's Church yesterday, and it being late, we 
concluded to drop into Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, not 
knowing it was a colored congregation, which made it all 
the more enjoyable to both of us. We both made the 
remark after the preaching, that we had not lost any- 
thing by not being able to find Dr. MacArthur's 
Church. 

Please let me add right here, that your sermon 
yesterday morning astonished me, for its clear, lucid 
exposition of the text, and for its poetic flights of 
oratory. It was simply grand. The whole moving 
power within was the Holy Spirit. There is your 
strength and power. This coming from a colored 
preacher, who possibly may not have had a collegiate 
course, convinces me, what I have always believed, 
that God has a bright future for your Race." 

433 Fifth Avenue, 

New York, Oct. 30, 1895. 

Dear Brother Wisher: I did not know, when you spoke 
to me a week ago about your anniversary, that it was 
to occur so soon. I am very sorry that I have an en- 
gagement on Thursday evening which precludes my 



being present and participating in the exercises, and the 
notice is too short to permit of my seeking to change it. 
I will, however, convey my congratulations to you 
and your people in this way, and express the joy I feel 
in the anniversary. It proves that both pastor and 
people must have been very good to each other that 
you have had such a long ministry in that one church. 
We all rejoice in the fruitful work you have done, and 
hope that your bow may abide in strength as you go on 
in your very successful labors. 

I am yours sincerely, 

Henry M. Sanders, 
Pastor of the Madison Ave. Baptist Church. 

55 East Sixty-fourth Street, 

New York, Oct. 20. 

My Dear Brother Wisher : I want to commend to 
you a woman who lives with us and attends your 
church — Rebecca Kennard. I think no one enjoys the 
church more than she does, but she is a stranger in 
New York and very timid about introducing herself. 
She was with us in Massachusetts, and was also in the 
family of my wife's mother in Baltimore. She is a 
member of the Rev. Mr. Alexander's church, and is 
very good to her church. She often comes to me with 
money to send to him. I asked him to drop you a line 
about her. 

I heartily rejoice with you in your great prosperity, 
and send my congratulations upon the celebration of 
your anniversary. 

I send a little volume, which I ask you to accept, 
with my regards. 

Sincerely yours, 

John T. Beckley, D.D., 
Pastor of the Baptist Church of Epiphany. 



i West Eighty-first Street. 

New York, Oct. 31, '95. 
Dear Bro. Wisher : 

I am sorry not to have been at your anniversary 
to-night, but I have had a cold for some weeks that I 
could not get rid of, and Mrs. Barratt feared I should 
make it worse by going out in the wet. 

We both wish you many happy anniversaries, with 
better weather next time. 

It must be a great gratification to you to have had 
so many useful years full of blessing and help to 
others — though not without troubles — but then which 
of us are without troubles ? 

They come to us all, but the bravest and strongest 
turn them to opportunities for greater usefulness. 

Trusting that the divine blessing may continue to 
us — on your labors, 

I am, Yours sincerely, 

J. Arthur Barratt. 

Mount Morris Baptist Church, 
Fifth Ave., Bet. 126TH & 127TH Streets. 
New York, Oct. 31, 1895. 
Rev. D. W. Wisher : 

My Dear Brother : I am very sorry that a pre- 
vious engagement will prevent me from accepting the 
kind invitation to attend the celebration of your 
eighteenth anniversary this evening. 

I wish for you all the joy that you wish for your- 
self, and hope that your days in the city may be many 
more, and your success in the future more glorious than 
that of the past. It gives me pleasure to know that 
you have been so greatly blessed and that you have the 
entire love of all your members. 

The Lord bless you in every way. 

Yours sincerely, W. C. Bitting, 

Per E. C. M. 

75 



The Preacher and His Message. 

EDUCATIONAL SERMON 

PREACHED BEFORE THE 

NATIONAL BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION 

BY 

. . . REV. D. W. WISHER . . . 

Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York City 

At the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church, 

Rev. Geo. W. Lee, D.D., Pastor, 

Sunday Evening, September 19th, 1893, Washington, D. C. 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



' But we preach Christ crucified." — I Cor. 1 : part of 23d verse. 



Mr. President and brethren of the National Baptist 
Educational Convention, and friends: In the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ I bring to you Christian salutation. 
Peace be with you, and may the Holy Spirit descend 
upon us, give us true wisdom and power. 

I was much surprised and greatly touched by your 
kind invitation to preach the annual sermon to this 
great body of Baptist brotherhood, as I expected to be 
forgotten by you after tendering my resignation as a 
member of this body, at your last session in this city 
three years ago. 

I desire your prayers for the guidance and power 
of the Holy Spirit, while I deliver unto you the mes- 
sage given to me for you by the Spirit of Truth, so that 
all may be edified and God glorified. 



This first letter of Paul to the Corinthians was 
written A. D. 60, at Easter in the third year of Paul's 
residence at Ephesus. 

The translation of the words of the text are " But 
we proclaim a Messiah crucified." 

The philosophers, scribes, and disputers of the 
world were in general employed in confuting each 
other's system. They scarcely agreed in anything, ex- 
cept in rejecting and despising the Gospel, and it was 
evident that their wisdom and learning had been of 
little use to mankind. 

What indeed had they achieved ? What traces of 
their success in ameliorating the state of the world 
could be discovered ? 

Could it be denied that God had exposed the folly 
of this kind of wisdom, in the most conspicuous 
manner ? 

In His infinite wisdom He had left a great part of 
the world to follow the dictates of their own boasted 
reason, and the event had demonstrated that the wis- 
dom of fallen man was incompetent to find out or 
retain the knowledge of God his creator. So that 
idolatry, atheism, or skepticism, connected with the 
most extreme weakness, was the universal effect. 

Matt, xi: 25, 26. "At that time Jesus answered 
and said, ' I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise 
and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' " 

" Even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in Thy 
sight. " 

Rom. i: 21-32. "Because that, when they knew 

78 



God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thank- 
ful ; but became vain in their imaginations, and their 
foolish heart was darkened. 

" Professing themselves to be wise, they became 
fools. 

"And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God 
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to 
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 

fi Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness 
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their 
own bodies between themselves. 

" Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and 
worshipped and served the creature more than the 
Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 

" For this cause God gave them up to vile affec- 
tions ; for even their women did change the natural 
use in that which is against nature ; 

"And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use 
of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; 
men with men working that which is unseemly, and 
receiving in themselves that recompense of their error 
which was meet." 

"And even as they did not like to retain God in 
their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate 
mind, to do those things which are not convenient." 

" Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, 
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, 
murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers. 

"Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boast- 
ers, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents. 



79 



"Without understanding, covenant breakers, with- 
out natural affection, implacable, unmerciful 

" Who knowing the judgment of God, that they 
which commit such things are worthy of death; not 
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do 
them." 

When this experiment had been sufficiently tried, 
" it pleased God " to send forth his apostles and evan- 
gelists, to preach that doctrine, which was derided as 
" foolishness/' and they delivered their message in the 
most simple and unadorned, but powerful manner ; yet, 
behold, most wonderful effects followed ! Immense 
multitudes believed the report, and were saved from 
idolatry and iniquities, and became the worshippers and 
servants of the living God. (I Thes. i : 5-10). 

11 For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, 
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
assurance ; as ye know what manner of men we were 
among you for your sake. 

"And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, 
having received the word in much affliction, with joy of 
the Holy Ghost. 

" So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in 
Macedonia and Achaia. 

"For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, 
not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every 
place your faith to Godward is spread abroad, so that 
we need not speak anything. 

"For they themselves show us what manner of en- 
tering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God 
from idols to serve the living and true God. 



"And to wait for his Son from the dead, even Jesus, 
which delivered us from the wrath to come." 

The Jewish scribes indeed, not satisfied with all 
the demonstration, from miracles and prophecies, that 
Jesus was the Messiah, as not savoring his spiritual sal- 
vation, demanded " a sign from heaven " and waited 
for a Messiah, who should "come with outward obser- 
vation." (Note Math, xvi : 1-4, Luke xvii : 20-23). 

"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and 
tempting desired him that He would show them a sign 
from heaven. 

"He answered and said unto them, When it is even- 
ing, ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is 
red." 

"And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day, 
for the sky is red and lowering. O, ye hypocrites, ye 
can discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern 
the signs of the times ? " 

''A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after 
a sign ; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but 
the sign of the prophet Jonas. And He left them and 
departed." 

"And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, 
when the kingdom of God should come, he answered 
them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with 
observation. ,J 

"Neither shall they say, Lo here ! or, lo there ! for, 
behold, the kingdom of God is within you/' 

" And He said unto the disciples, The days will 
come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the 
Son of man, and ye shall not see it." 
81 



"And they shall say to you, See here ; or, see there; 
go not after them, nor follow them." 

And the Greeks required a doctrine adapted to their 
philosophy, and supported by reasonings and specula- 
tions like that of their noted leaders. 

But the servants of God called, chosen and qualified 
men of good Christian character and full of the Holy 
Spirit, "preached Christ crucified." 

This was the grand peculiarity of their doctrine, 
the centre of their instructions, and the topic on which 
they delighted to expatiate, and by motives deducted 
from it, they enforced all their exhortations. 

This doctrine of a crucified Messiah ; this testi- 
mony that He, who had been put to death by the rulers 
of the Jews, as "a. deceiver/' was their long-expected 
Deliverer and King, to whom all subjection was due^ 
and from whom all blessings were to be expected, 
was " a stumbling stone to the Jews," who took offence 
at it, and persisted in unbelief ; while the philoso- 
phizing Greeks derided, as the excess of folly, the idea 
that a Jew, and one whom that despised nation had 
crucified with ignominy, should be honored as the 
Governor and Judge of all mankind, trusted as the only 
Saviour from everlasting misery, and even adored as the 
infinite and Almighty God. 

Let us take notice of two things in our dis- 
course. 

But we preach Christ crucified. 

i. The preacher. 

2. The message. 



82 



THE PREACHER. 

Who and what were the preachers or messengers 
chosen by Christ to proclaim His Gospel ? 

It is of a truth that the first chosen by Him were 
not men of high learning, nor men trained in the 
schools of worldly wisdom, but were humble fishermen. 
Yet they had traits of character and mind which fitted 
them pre-eminently for the chosen work. 

The omniscient Master saw in these humble men 
qualities which he would have sought in vain among 
the scholars of that age. 

Did He send them forth untrained to expound 
the mystery of Godliness ? No, He himself, the source 
of all wisdom, trained them until their knowledge out- 
shined and was able to conquer all the wisdom of the 
world. 

First, He called them that He knew to be faithful, 
and they gladly responded ; then He trusted them and 
gave them the words of Life and sent them forth. 

Should the messengers who to-day go out to pro- 
claim the unsearchable riches of Christ, the same glori- 
ous Gospel which our Lord committed to His disciples 
be of a meaner order or a lower standard than those 
chosen by Christ during His earthly life ? No. What 
should be the qualifications of our ministry of to-day, 
when we look upon the first disciples and their Godly 
life? 

At first they should be men who by their humble 
Christian life and high moral character give evidence 
that they have been born of God, regenerated by the 

83 



power of the Holy Spirit, being faithful toward God 
and their fellowmen. 

Secondly, they should give evidence by their love 
for the souls of men and their self-denial and self-sacri- 
ficing fulfillment of their duty that they are sent to 
preach Christ. 

Further let us ask : Should men be admitted to 
the ministry who are not prepared in knowledge to 
preach ? 

The messengers of God shall be leaders of the 
people, teachers of that wisdom which excels all 
knowledge and science of the world. Can they do such 
work successfully without preparation, and most 
thorough preparation ! No, never. 

What then is necessary for the training of our 
young men who are called of God for the ministry? 

Let us insist upon them to obtain the very best 
education our schools can afford. 

A lawyer is not admitted to the Bar until he is 
equipped for it. 

A student of medicine is not permitted to practice 
until he has acquired the knowledge and passed through 
the course of study prescribed by the faculty. 

Why then should the ministry permit men to join 
their ranks and impose upon our charges committed to 
us by our God, who are not able to successfully plead 
the cause of Christ in the world, nor to convince a sin- 
ner of the error of his ways to save his soul from death ? 

We need stricter rules, and should exercise greater 
care upon whom we lay our hands and admit to the 
sacred brotherhood of the ministry. We need more 

84 



schools and better schools than we have. We need 
schools with consecrated men of God, full of wisdom, 
and full of the Holy Ghost, as teachers. Schools in 
which it is not the only object to cram into the head of 
the student as much knowledge of the letter as possible 
without paying any attention to his spiritual life. 

We need schools that will educate, draw out the 
brilliant abilities of our rising generation. Institutions 
that will turn out men of knowledge, men wise unto 
salvation. Men full of enthusiasm for the work. Above 
all, men full of the Holy Ghost. 

Let me say in plain words: I do assert that in this 
present age a man cannot successfully work as a mes- 
senger of God, a minister of the Gospel, without having 
a thorough knowledge of His Word, acquired by 
a systematic training, however great his zeal and en- 
thusiasm might be. 

On the other hand, I do assert that a man will not 
be a successful preacher; yea, if he had the wisdom of 
Solon and Socrates, or Solomon, and lacked the 
spiritual life and enthusiasm inspired by the Holy 
Ghost. 

Why do we see some of our college bred young 
ministers so often make a total failure in the work of 
the ministry ? Because they are puffed up by knowledge 
without common sense to enable them to use it for the 
good of their fellow-men, and without spiritual zeal. 

Because they have gained superior knowledge? 
No. The whole truth is, there is too much catering to 
the ignorance of the pew for the sake of a few loves, 
and thus they sadly fail. 

85 



Oh, for a consecrated ministry that will, in humility, 
shine forth as a great light to the glory of God, enlight- 
ening the world that sits in darkness. 

Oh, for more young men of the highest moral stand- 
ing that will be living epistles, living examples of the 
doctrines of Christ. Men that will study human nature, 
and by the words of truth be able to move the souls of 
men by the Spirit's power within them. 

Men whose greatest aim shall be to save souls, 
that will not despise the smallest fields to uplift the 
fallen and bring out those that are in the gall of bitter- 
ness and the bonds of iniquity. 

Brethren, we that are in the ministry now, we that 
love the welfare of Christ's cause, can do much towards 
this end, and we must do it. 

ist. We must be united in the strongest bond of 
Christian fellowship. We are separated at present. 
There should be among us, as a people, no Northern, 
Southern, Eastern, or Western Baptist. We should be 
one in heart, one in mind ; in full co-operation, blending 
our efforts in furthering the cause of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

The difference in our education and position 
should not make us antagonists to each other. We are 
brethren in one common faith, and must have our whole 
soul in this work, which is God's work, and not our 
own, and give Him the honor and glory. 

What we need to-day is a consecrated, united 
effort of the great body of colored Baptists of these 
United States, and, in the name of onr Lord Jesus, we 



can do a great work. First, the Ministry must be united 
in Christian love, and then the churches will follow . 

Schools cannot be established and maintained 
without money. How shall we get it ? 

By concentrating the great family of colored 
Baptists, for each member to bear a part of the burden. 

There are about one million and a half of colored 
Baptists in the United States. Let each take a part of 
the work by contributing their means, and we can 
maintain at least six good schools ; establish our own 
publishing house, controlled by colored Baptists of this 
country. 

Then we shall be able to help our young men 
students for the ministry and educate young women as 
teachers and missionaries. But this cannot be accomp- 
lished by selfish motives. It must be done in the 
spirit of Christ, through His love within us, and for the 
glory of God, and not of man. 

Will we not as colored Baptists appreciate our 
God-given advantages of to-day, and make the very 
best use of them for the benefit of our race ? 

Shall we spend our precious time in measuring 
arms ? In strife ? Shall we uphold Gospel truths and 
pure Christian character, and education ? Or shall our 
forces continually be divided, like the scribes and dis- 
puters of old ? 

" Divided we fall, united we stand," and will pros- 
per in the work of Christian education, and the salva- 
tion of souls, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

When we exemplify more of Christ in everything 
we do, and less of our self, and consecrate all to the 

87 



Lord Jesus, and " preach Christ crucified/' and live the 
life according to His example, we shall become a power 
in this great nation, and the results shall be more glori- 
ous than they were on the Day of Pentecost, our joy 
will be full, and God will be glorified. 

We have the people and they have the money and 
above all we have a true, faithful, living God. What is 
the trouble? Is the fault in God? No. The fault is in us. 

We are divided on isms, I term it. We must preach 
one il Christ crucified," in words of the Spirit, and in 
our own character, "Be ye clean that bear the vessels 
of the Lord." 

We must practice what we preach. "A cistern can- 
not send forth pure and impure water at the same time." 

Our money and our time must be consecrated to 
God. Not sparingly, stingely shall we give, but liber- 
ally, cheerfully. " For God loves the cheerful giver, and 
the liberal soul shall be made fat." 

We are commanded to " give one-tenth" of our 
income and the first fruits of our labors to Him. Our 
people need to be enlightened more on this line, as well 
as on other important topics of Christianity. 

Brethren, let us rise up as one man for Christ and 
go to work. Time is flying and men are dying and the 
judgment is near. "Awake, thou that sleepeth, and 
arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light." 

THE MESSAGE, " CHRIST CRUCIFIED." 

A crucified Messiah, " the Christ," the Anointed. 
Take Christ and Him crucified out of the Bible and we 
have no Gospel, and will still be in the bonds of in- 
88 



iquity and in total darkness and doomed to everlasting 
destruction. 

Christ and Him crucified is the sum and substance 
of the Gospel. 

The same Gospel that was manifested to the world 
by Christ and His Apostles was either implied or sym- 
bolically couched in all the communications of God to 
the ancient world. 

The great promise to our first parents involved it, 
because in no other way than the Gospel could that 
promise ever have been accomplished. 

It is only in the character in which Christ crucified 
is manifested in the Gospel that the seed of the woman 
could have bruised the head of the serpent. 

The Godhead and incarnation of the Messiah are 
implied in the promise. 

That the serpent may bruise his heel, he must be 
man ; that he may be able to bruise the head of the 
serpent, and so to redeem His people, he must be 
God. 

The reconciliation of sinners to God through the 
blood of the cross is here announced in a dark and dis- 
tant manner, but which now, in the light of the Gospel, 
is as clear as a sunbeam. 

Nothing but the plan of salvation revealed in the 
Gospel could fulfill this promise. This plan, then must 
be divine. 

Christ is, and must be lifted up as the Saviour of 
the world. ''And I, if I be lifted up," says Jesus, "I 
will draw all men unto me." 

There are many topics on which we may discourse, 



many questions we may discuss ; but we ought to 
preach Christ. There are men to-day clamoring for 
something new. The spirit of the time is full of skep- 
ticism, rejects the plain Gospel truths and desires to 
hear only such topics discussed in the pulpit as suits 
their fancy and does not disturb their slumber of carnal 
security. Hirelings behind the sacred desk who claim 
to be shepherds of Christ's flock, yield to the demand 
of the fanciful crowd, and in order to be popular 
preachers, court the favor of the people by tickling 
their ears with foolish fancies rather than to court the 
favor of God by proclaiming the truth as it is in Christ 
Jesus the Lord. They preach in silver-tongued orations, 
and hardly dare to touch with velvet-gloved hands the 
dormant conscience of their hearers for fear of becom- 
ing unpopular and unfashionable. 

Away with such message which beguiles the heart 
and sinks the soul into hell. 

Paul realized his duty to its fullest extent when he 
exclaims "I am a debtor both to the Greek and to the 
barbarian, to the wise and to the unwise." And debtors 
we are to the world of humanity, for a precious treasure 
has been intrusted into our hands, to deliver unto the 
world the sweet message of a once crucified and arisen 
Redeemer, for a there is none other name given under 
heaven among men, whereby we must be saved." 

We realize and maintain the glorious doctrine of 
one common fatherhood and one common brotherhood; 
"one faith, one Lord, one baptism." And we believe as 
Paul says, that " God made out of one blood all nations 
that dwell upon the face of the earth," and that makes 
9 o 



us debtors to the world. One blood in creation and 
that one precious blood of the crucified Saviour in re- 
demption. In every soul that goes to eternal destruction, 
we loose a brother ; flesh of our flesh, and blood of our 
blood, kindred souls for whose salvation to strive is our 
life work. 

Can we do it with flattering tongues, can we do it 
by teaching them to observe ceremonies or learn creeds 
written by men ? 

No ! but convict men of sin and unrighteousness. 
Show them in stern words the unchangeable justice of 
a righteous God, and then preach Christ crucified for 
their sins, atoning with his blood for their iniquity ; 
calling in His boundless love for the heavy laden to 
come unto Him. Are we soldiers of the cross ? Then 
we are also standard bearers in the army of the living 
God. David sings to Jehovah. " Thou hast given a 
banner unto them that fear Thee that it may be dis- 
played because of the truth." 

Let us unfurl it, brethren, that men may see its 
mottoes. Oh ! the inscriptions that are written on this 
blood-stained banner of our Lord — characters of living, 
glowing, flowing light ! 

Jehovah, in the Garden of Eden, begins to inscribe 
the promise of the Messiah. David, in the sweet per- 
fume of poetry, takes up the strain of promised deliver- 
ance from the bondage of sin. Isaiah, the writer of 
the Old Testament Gospel, sees the Messiah in pro- 
phetic vision as the Saviour of the world, and writes 
upon his banner with a bold hand. Christ, in the full- 
ness of time, illuminates it with heavenly light in Beth- 

91 



lehem's plains, and sprinkles it with His blood ; on 
Calvary lifts it up on high ; the third day, in the 
morning, raises it triumphantly over the whole world. 
The power of Satan broken, Death and the Grave 
conquered, He plants it up on Zion's Hill, and commits 
it to our charge. 

Let us be faithful to our trust. Let us sound the 
jubilant notes of the silver trumpet until the world re- 
echoes the message of salvation. Look upon thousands 
of our people in their depravity. You can find them in 
the gambling house, upon the ballroom floor, and in 
every den of vice imaginable. Precious souls are being 
lost, and morals are being degraded. Let us carry the 
message truthfully. Warn men of the awful justice of 
Jehovah in His wrath against the disobedient, and 
entice them by the marvellous love of a crucified 
Redeemer to flee from the wrath to come. 

Bring before their eyes the suffering Messiah, de- 
spised by men and rejected, dying on the cruel cross 
for the sin of the world. Let them hear his cry, " It is 
finished." The work of atonement is complete, and 
Israel is free. 

Show them the Prince of Peace in the glory of the 
Easter morn, triumphant over death and the powers of 
darkness for our justification. Let them hear the mar- 
velous words of love. "Come unto me, all ye that 
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
Cheer them, when their heart is broken in Godly sorrow, 
with the words of promise, " He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved." 

Guide them through life by uplifting the royal 



standard of Christ crucified and arisen emblazoned in 
golden letters with the stupendous truths and grand 
precepts that fall from His holy lips, commanding all 
men to lead holy lives and follow the standard of 
morality set up by Him. Do it truthfully ; take His 
word, and nothing but His word. Depart from super- 
stitions and vain imaginations, relying on the pure words 
of life. 

Let our battle cry be, "The world for Jesus," and 
thus we must conquer. Much has been achieved by 
the Church of Christ. The cross, once despised, has 
become mighty. It stretches its arms over the North, 
the South, the East, the West, controls the thoughts of 
millions of men, and gathers under its shadow their 
souls. Yet there is more to be done and we must fight 
until the banner of Christ shall float from every hill and 
through every valley on the face of the globe, until we 
shall herald the glad tidings from land to land, and 
from sea to sea, till every knee shall bow and every 
tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lorcl. Then we 
shall lay our weapons down at His feet and still praise 
" Christ and Him crucified." 



93 



The following are a few of the many letters of 
praise and commendation on this sermon which were 
received by the Rev. D. W. Wisher from some of the 
most able men in our race who were present at the time 
the sermon was delivered ; and these expressions of 
encomium and congratulations coming from persons 
who, perhaps, never before heard or met the Rev. D. 
W. Wisher, show how well he is thought of as one of 
our greatest and best expounders of the Gospel, not 
only by the members and congregation of his own 
church, but by the members and congregations (black 
and white) of other churches in other sections of the 
country, where he has been and preached, and where 
his eloquent, explicit and profound exposition of the Word 
of God has been able to move some of the most stubborn- 
hearted sinners, and has caused them to be brought out 
of the darkness of iniquity into the glorious light of the 
Gospel, wherein they have the assurance that, by faith 
and trusting in the power and glory of God, through 
Jesus Christ our Redeemer, they will at last, when done 
with the toils of this unfriendly world, reach a glorious 
haven of rest, prepared for the righteous by our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Washington, D. C. 
" I heard the sermon preached before the National 
Baptist Convention, held at Washington, D. C, on 
Sunday night, September 17th, 1893, and regard it an 
excellent setting forth of Gospel truth, and hope to see 
it in print. 

M. Vann, 
Pres. Amer. Nat. Bap. Convention, U.S.A." 



"Washington, D. C, Sept. 19th, 1893. 

" I am thankful to have the privilege to say that I 
have heard the Educational sermon delivered by the 
Rev. D. W. Wisher, of New York City, on Sunday night, 
Sept. 17th, 1893, in the Vermont Avenue Baptist 
Church, and to my mind it is an able discourse, and one 
worthy of publication. 

A. R. Griggs, 
Pres. Foreign Mission Convention of the U. S. A., 

Dallas, Tex." 



"Washington, D. C, Sept. 19th, 1893. 
The sermon preached by the Rev. D. W. Wisher 
before the National Baptist Educational Convention on 
Sunday night, last, was timely in conception, and I should 
like to see it in print. I believe it will do good to 
many. 

P. F. Morris, 
President of the N. B. E. Convention. 



"Washington, D. C, Sept. 19th, 1893. 
The sermon preached before the National Baptist 
Educational Convention on Sunday night, -Sept. 17th, 
1893, was a manly, strong, logical, eloquent, and effec- 
tive effort, and we think it ought to be given to the public, 
and hope that this wish will be realized. 
James H. Garnett, 

Pres. State University, 

Louisville, Ky." 



The Way of Salvation. 

A Paper Read in St. Mark's Church, New York, to the Preachers' 
Union Conference, April 13, 1896, by 

REV. D. W. WISHER. 



Mr. President and Brethren : According to your 
desire, I am here to-day to read a paper on " The Way 
to Salvation." It seems that it has been a very difficult 
subject to a good many, but I have not found it a diffi- 
cult one, since I have taken God's Word for my guide, 

I shall not attempt to treat on the theories of man, 
but simply give you God's Word as the foundation and 
structure of this subject, and what I believe it teaches, 
for it is '•' truth without error or mixture," and it is 
profitable for doctrine and able to make us wise unto 
salvation/' 

I need not tell you that man is in need of salvation. 
This is well known to you all. Let me state to you first 
who is the Deliverer, and then I will proceed to tell 
you how to be delivered, according to the Scriptures. 
The word "salvation" means deliverance. Jesus 
Christ is the great Deliverer. God gave Him to the 
world as the Deliverer, Thess. i: 5-9: " For God has 
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by 
our Lord Jesus Christ." He gave Him as a free gift to 
the world, John iii: 16: "For God so loved the world 

97 



that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life." 

Man's sincerity cannot save him ; nor can his own 
righteousness save him ; neither can his prayers save 
him ; nothing but repentance and faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. The debt is paid ; Jesus paid it with His 
own blood. Rom. v:6.: "For when we were yet with- 
out strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. " 
The way to obtain this deliverance, and the only way 
that I find that God's Word teaches is by faith and re- 
pentance. Eph. ii: 5 : (t Even when we were dead in 
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace 
ye are saved." 8 v.: "For by grace ye are saved, 
through faith, and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift 
of God." 9 v.: " Not of works, lest any man should 
boast." Rom. iii:24: "Being justified freely by His 
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 
Rom. iv:i6: " Therefore it is of faith that it might be 
by grace to the end the promise might be sure to all the 
seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that 
also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father 
of us all." Also 24 and 25 v., and Rom. vi:i7: "The 
sinner is lost ; he is far from God ; and God sent His Son 
into the world to seek and save the lost sinner — Matt. 
xviii:n: "For the Son of man is come to save that 
which was lost/' I John iv:io: " Herein is love, not 
that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His 
Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 

Repentance and faith are lined together ; they can- 
not be separated. 

98 



What is repentance ? Repentance is a change of 
mind and disposition, with regret and sorrow for some- 
thing done, and a want for it to be undone. But how 
can he repent unless he has faith in the Deliverer, who 
has power to undo it ? Let us quote Isaiah lv: 7: " Let 
the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord and He will 
have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He will 
abundantly pardon." 8v. : "For my thoughts are not 
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the 
Lord." Repentance is not only being sorry for sin, but 
turning away from it, hating it, and by faith in the Re- 
deemer's blood. II Cor. vii:io: " For Godly sorrow 
worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, 
but the sorrow of the world bringeth death." 

What is faith? Heb. xi : 12. Faith is confidence; 
it is obedience, it is belief ; it credits what God says 
as true without doubt ; it is the medium through which 
the sinner receives divine favor. Without it no man 
can please God. Heb. xi: 6 : " But without faith it is 
impossible to please God, for he who comes to God 
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of 
them that diligently seek Him. 

The way of salvation is plain. God's word teaches 
it. It is not a dark mystery to understand ; it is 
simple, plain, practical truth. " Though a man, if a 
fool, he need not err therein." In the days of our 
blessed Lord when on earth. He taught it. The 
woman came to Him and touched His garment, and 
said : "If I could but touch the hem of His garment I 
shall be made whole." She did so. Jesus inquired 



who touched Him, not that He did not know, He 
said : " Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath 
made thee whole. Go in peace." (Matt, ix: 22). 
" When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of 
the palsy: Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." (Mark ii: 5). 

And there are numerous other passages of Scripture 
which I might name that bear upon this subject, 
while Christ was here on earth, talking among the 
people. 

After Christ's death and resurrection the first 
Gospel message, which is the ground work of all, is 
found in Mark xvi: 15: "And He said unto them: Go 
ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every 
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." 
By this, sinners are lost eternally because they reject 
and will not believe on the Son of God. By their re- 
pentence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ they are 
saved. Christ sent His disciples and ministers to pro- 
claim the Gospel truth. They that believe it are 
saved ; they that believe it not are damned. Of course, 
if a man does not realize his guilt, and is not convinced 
that he is guilty, and does not see his need, he will not be- 
lieve on Christ, for his heart is hardened by sin, and that 
sin, which is the most damnable of all, is unbelief. If He 
wanted His disciples and apostles to tell men to go and 
pray for their salvation He would have said so, but no- 
where in the Scriptures, old or new, do I find where he tells 
the lost sinner to go and pray for His sins, nor to look for 
a sign, nor to go certain places and pray, for God does 
not hear lost sinners pray. 



"How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they 
have not believed, and how shall they believe in Him 
whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear 
without a preacher ?" Rom. x : 14. 

If so, Christ would have taught them how to do 
it, for we that are saved know not how to pray as we 
ought "without the Spirit helping our infirmities." 

" Now, we know that God heareth not sinners, 
but if any man be a worshipper (or believer) of God, 
and doeth His will, him He heareth. " John ix: 31. 

" Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, 
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; 
but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be uttered." Rom. viii : 26. 

" Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh 
upon him ?" Job xxvii : 9. 

" There they cry, but none giveth answer because 
of the pride of evil man." Job xxxv: 12. 

" Then shall they call upon Him, and He will not 
answer ; they shall seek Him early, but they shall not 
find Him/' Prov. i : 28. 

" They cried, but there was none to save them ; 
even unto the Lord, but He answered them not." 
Ps. xviii : 41. 

" When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine 
eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers I 
will not hear you ; your hands are full of blood." 
Isaiah i . 15. 

" If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will 
not hear me." Ps. lxvi : 18. 

Dear brethren, here I stand and believe God's 



Word, if all the world should go back on it — not my 
word, but God's Word — by which we all shall be judged. 
It is as clear as the sunlight; it is truth without mix- 
ture; it is a sharp two-edged sword; it cuts wherever it 
is preached; it is the truth of God through Jesus Christ. 
Jesus says in John x: 9: " I am the door; by Me if any 
man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, 
and shall find pasture;" and in John xiv: 6: "I am the 
way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the 
Father, but by Me." The Apostle Paul also says: 
" That we are saved by grace through faith, and that 
not of ourselves/' Christ talking to Nicodemus, in the 
third chapter of John makes it plain. Read from the 
fourteenth to the eighteenth verses, where it sets forth 
faith as the way to salvation; also the thirty-sixth verse 
of the same chapter. Read the fourth chapter of John, 
about the Samaritan woman, how Christ opened unto 
her the Gospel of salvation, and in particular, read 
verses thirty-nine and forty-two; then read the fourth 
chapter of John, about Christ and the nobleman, when 
He healed his son; also read from the forty-eighth to 
the fiftieth verses of the same chapter. Then you see 
that faith is one of the crowning jewels that God has 
given wherein we can obtain this blessed salvation. 

But just let us note: how can man get this faith ? 
Rom. x: 17: "So, then, faith cometh by hearing, and 
hearing by the Word of God." John v: 24: "Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My Word and 
believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and 
shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from 



death unto life." Also, of the same chapter, read from 
the thirty-ninth to the forty-seventh verses. 

Now, I will continue to give you Scripture refer- 
ences of the only way to salvation: 

" Then said they unto Him, ' What shall we do, 
that we might work the works of God ? ' " 

"Jesus answered and said unto them, 'This is the 
work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath 
sent.'" 

"And Jesus said unto them, ' I am the bread of 
life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he 
that believeth on me shall never thirst.' " 

"'And this is the will of Him that sent me, that 
every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, 
may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at 
the last day/" St. John vi: 28, 29, 35, 40, 

"' He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath 
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living 
water/' 

" But thus spake He of the spirit, which they that 
believe on Him should receive ; for the Holy Ghost was 
not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified." 
St. John vii : 38, 39. 

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me 
not." 

"But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe 
the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the 
Father is in me, and I in Him." St. John x: 37, 38. 

" The sinner is dead, then how can he pray ? " 

"And you hath He quickened, who were dead in 
trespasses and sins;" 

103 



" Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened 
us together with Christ ( By grace ye are saved/') 

" But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were 
far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. 

ii : i, 5, 13- 

" That we should be to the praise of His glory, who 
first trusted in Christ." 

" In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the 
word of truth, the Gospel of salvation: in whom also 
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy 
Spirit of promise." Eph, i: 12, 13. 

" Jesus said -unto her, I am the resurrection and 
the life: he that believeth in me, though he was dead, 
yet shall he live." 

" And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall 
never die. Believest thou this?" John xi: 25, 26. 

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God 
for Israel is, that they might be saved." 

" For I bear them record that they have a zeal of 
God, but not according to knowledge." 

" For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, 
and going about to establish their own righteousness, 
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of 
God." 

" For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness 
to everyone that believes." 

" For Moses describeth the righteousness of the 
law, That the man that doeth those things shall live 
by them." 

" But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh 



on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend 
into heaven ? that is to bring Christ down from 
above." 

" Or, Who shall descend into the deep (that is to 
bring up Christ again from the dead)/' 

" But what saith it. The word is nigh thee even in 
thy mouth, and in thy heart : that is the word of faith 
which we preach ; " 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath 
raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved." 

" For with the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto 
salvation." 

" For the Scripture saith Whosoever believeth on 
Him shall not be ashamed/' 

"For there is no difference between the Jew and 
the Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto all 
who call upon Him." 

" For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 
shall be saved." 

" How then shall they call on Him in whom they 
have not believed ? and how shall they believe on Him 
of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear 
without a preacher?" Romans x : 1-14. 

" Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ : " 

" By whom also we have access by faith into this 
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory 
of God." Romans v : 1-2. 

" But to him that worketh not, but believeth on 

105 



Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
his righteousness." Romans iv : 5. 

On the day of Pentecost they repented and be- 
lieved the Gospel, and three thousand souls were con- 
verted, baptized, and added to the church in one day. 
(Acts x:2-22). Saul was converted on his way to Da- 
mascus, when he was stopped by the way by a shining 
light from Heaven ; and Jesus called unto him and 
said : " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? " 
(and he said:) "Who art thou, Lord?" And the 
Lord said : " I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. 
It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." And he, 
trembling and astonished, said : " Lord, what wilt 
Thou have me to do?" And the Lord said unto him : 
"Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee 
what thou must do/' He was then and there a changed 
man, and he believed then and there, because afterward 
he prayed, worshipping God. Read Acts xi:i7~i8; 
John viii 124-44-46 ; Acts v:43. Pau l an ^ Silas, bound 
in jail at Philippi, when they were loosed by the 
power of God, spoke words of comfort to the jailer, 
who was about to slay himself. The jailer asked ; 
*' What must I do to be saved ?" Paul said : "Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and 
thy house." (Acts xvi:3i). Also read about Philip 
and the Eunuch, in Acts viii:37 ; I John vno-13. 

Dear brethren, by faith and repentance is the way 
to salvation. You can see that we are taught by the 
Scriptures that we are delivered by faith in Christ, that 
we live by faith, that we walk by faith, that we stand 
by faith and that we overcome by faith in Christ. 
106 



"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like 
men, be strong." I Cor. xvi:i3. 

"For, though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I 
with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, 
and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." 

" As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the 
Lord, so walk ye in Him/' 

" Rooted and built up in Him, and established in 
the faith, as ye have been taught abounding therein 
with thanksgiving.-" Col. ii 15 — 7. 

" Let us hold fast the profession of our faith with- 
out wavering, for He is faithful that promised." Heb. 
x:23. 

" For we walk by faith and not by sight." II Cor. 
v:7. 

" I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; 
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I 
live now in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of 
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Gal. 
ii:2o. 

"By faith, Noah being warned of God of things 
not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the 
saving of his house; by the which He condemned the 
world, and became heir of the righteousness which is 
by faith." 

"By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out 
into a place which he should after receive for an in- 
heritance, obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing 
whither he went. 

"By faith He sojourned in the land of promise 
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles, with 

107 



Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same 
promise." 

u For He looked for a city which hath foundations 
whose builder and maker is God." 

" Through faith also Sara herself received strength 
to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child, and she 
was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had 
promised/' 

" Therefore sprang there even of one and him as 
good as dead so many as the stars of the sky in multi- 
tude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innum- 
erable." 

" These all died in faith, not having received the 
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were per- 
suaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that 
they were strangers and pilgrims on earth/' Heb. n: 

7-I3- 

I bless God for His Word, which is truth. He has 
enabled me to receive it. I believe it, and I preach it ; 
wherein I stand by faith in Jesus Christ my Lord, pro- 
claiming His Word, in which he gives His Spirit. It is 
sharper than a "two-edged sword "; it is "sweeter than 
honey; yea, the very droppings of the honeycomb ; it 
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth." When the dusty march is over I shall blow 
the trumpet of God no longer, warning sinners to re- 
pent and believe the Gospel of the once crucified and 
risen Saviour. The last note has been touched by its 
magnetic power, believed in his heart, confessed with 
his mouth the Lord Jesus. For I am able to say, like 
Paul of old : " For I know whom I have believed, and 
108 



I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I 
have committed unto Him against that day." And, 
furthermore, I shall, with all the rest of the believers, 
like Paul, triumphantly say: "I have fought a good 
fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the 
faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give me at that day : and not to me only, but to all 
them also that love His appearing." 

Therefore, brethren, Jesus is seeking the sinner ; 
He is knocking at the door of his heart : " Only believe 
and thou shalt be saved." 

Brethren, let us be careful, for we are warned not 
to take from nor add to God's Word. (Prov. xxx: 5, 6; 
Rev. xxii: 18, 19: Rom. iii: 4). Do not let us do as the 
Pharisees. Read Matt, xxiii: 14, 15. 

So the way to salvation is by repentance and faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. 



109 



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